! 

tihvaxy  of  €he  Cheolojicd  ^tminary 

PRINCETON  •  NEW  JERSEY 


PRESENTED  BY 

Delavan  L,  Pisrson 


BV  3265  .R5313  1908 
Richter,  Julius,  1862-1940 
A  history  of  missions  in 
India 


A  HISTORY  OF  MISSIONS  IN  INDIA 


"I  believe,  notwithstanding  all  that  the  English 
people  have  done  to  benefit  that  country  (India), 
the  missionaries  have  done  more  than  all  other 
agencies  combined." 

Lord  Lawrence. 


#^-^ 


/3_ 

A   HISTORY      ''''\ 

OF 

MISSIONS  IN   INDIA 


JULIUS    RICHTER,    D.D. 

PFARRER    OF   SCHWANEBECK 

EDITOR   OF    "  DIE   EVANGELISCHEN    MISSIONEN  " 

AUTHOR   OF    "  NORDINDISCHE   MISSIONSFAHRTEN  "    "  UGANDA' 

"DEUTSCHE    MISSION    IN   SUD   INDIEN  "   ETC.    ETC. 


TRANSLATED   BY 


SYDNEY    H.   MOORE 

MASTER    IN    THE  SCHOOL   FOR   SONS   OF    MISSIONARIES 
BLACKHEATH 


IF/TH  COLOURED  MAP  BY  BARTHOLOMEW 


PUBLISHED     BY 

FLEMING   H.   REVELL   COMPANY 

NEW   YORK      CHICAGO     TORONTO 

1908 


TRANSLATOR'S     PREFACE 

It  were  a  churl's  part  not  to  give  thanks  where  such  are  due, 
and  in  sending  forth  this  version  of  Richter's  Indische  Missions- 
gesckichte,  the  translator  desires  to  express  sincere  gratitude  for 
much  labour,  helpful  counsel,  and  kindly  assistance  rendered  by 
Miss  E.  I.  M.  Boyd,  of  Cambridge ;  by  Rev.  J.  H.  Oldham,  M. A., 
of  Edinburgh ;  by  Fraulein  Gertrud  Ludewig,  of  Jena  ;  and  by 
the  genial  author  himself,  Dr.  Julius  Richter.  Considerable 
erudite  help  has  also  been  received  whilst  the  book  has  been 
going  through  the  press,  at  the  hands  of  Dr.  Datta,  of  Lahore. 
In  the  case  of  Rev,  J.  H.  Oldham  special  acknowledgment  is 
due,  as  the  first  thirty-seven  pages  were  translated  by  him.  It 
will  be  seen  to  how  many  sources  any  excellences  that  may 
here  be  found  are  traceable ;  for  any  faults  the  undersigned 
alone  is  responsible. 

It  would  be  presumption  for  one  filling  so  subordinate  a  role 
as  that  of  translator,  to  seek  to  prefix  any  formal  dedication  to 
his  work.  Yet  if  the  names  of  the  good,  when  invoked  upon  the 
enterprises  of  olden  time,  were  held  to  render  successful  those 
about  to  venture  forth  to  unknown  fields,  let  it  be  permitted 
that  in  connection  with  this  modest  enterprise  there  be  associated 
the  names  of  the  indomitable,  the  brave,  the  fearless,  and  the 
good — the  names  of  my  father  and  my  mother. 

SYDNEY  H.  MOORE. 
Welling,  August  1908. 


CONTENTS 


INTRODUCTION 

1.  The  Land  ...... 

2.  The  People  ..... 

3.  Religion  and  Caste        .... 

CHAPTER  I 

EARLY  MISSIONS 

1.  Before  the  Landing  of  the  Portuguese 

{a)  Earliest  Times 

{d)   The  First  Missionaries  from  Rome     . 

2.  From    the    Landing    of   the    Portuguese    to   the    Advent    of 

Protestant  Missions  ..... 

(«)  1498-1542        

(d)   Francisco  Xavier  ..... 

(c)  The  Second  Half  of  the  Sixteenth  Century  . 

(d)  Robert  de  Nobili         ..... 

(e)  Other    Roman    Catholic    Missions    during     the     Sixteenth 

Seventeenth,  and  Eighteenth  Centuries  . 
{/)  The  Struggles   of  the    Syrian  Church  in  Malabar,  and   thi 

Victory  of  the  Romish  Church    . 
ig)   The    Schism    in    the    Syrian   Church,  and    the    subsequent 

Development  of  the  separated  Churches 
{/i)  The  Decline  of  Roman  Catholic  Missions 

CHAPTER  II 
THE  DANISH  MISSION 

1.  The  Historical  Background    ..... 

2.  Early  Years  (i  706-1 720)  ..... 

3.  Further  Development  (1720-1798)       .... 

CHAPTER  III 

THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  PROTESTANT  MISSIONS 
DURING  THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY 

1.  The  Age  of  William  Carey      . 

(fl)  The  Dawn  of  Modern  Missions  in  India 
(3)   The  Serampore  Trio  . 

(c)  Other  Pioneers 

(d)  The  Fight  for  the  Charter  of  18 13    . 
(<?)    1813-1853— The  Advent   of  the   Great  Missionary  Societit 
(/)  Last  Years  of  the  Danish  Mission  (1800-1840) 

2.  The  Age  of  Alexander  Duff  ..... 

{a)  Alexander  Duff  and  his  Work 

(d)   The  Patronage   of    Heathenism— Lord    William    Bentinck 

Reforms    ....... 

{c)   The   Advent   of  German   and   American   Missionaries— The 

Opening  up  of  the  Punjab  (1833-1857)  . 


PAGE 

I 

6 
17 


96 
102 
no 


128 
128 
132 

143 
149 

153 
161 

173 
173 

1S5 
192 


CONTENTS 


3.  From    the    Mutiny    to    the    Proclamation    of    the     Empire 

(1857-1877)       

{a)  The  Mutiny      ...... 

{d)   Neutrality  or  Christianity :  The  Controversy  at  Home 
(c)   After  the  Mutiny  (1857-1879) 

4.  Missions  in  India  To-day  (from  1880) 

CHAPTER  IV 

RELIGIOUS  PROBLEMS  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 


CHAPTER  V 
MISSIONARY  ORGANISATION 

1.  The  Anglican  Episcopate 

2.  Vernacular  Preaching  . 

3.  Literary  Work    . 

(a)  Bible  Translation 
(d)   Other  Literature 

4.  The  Mission  School 

5.  Other  Missionary  Work  among  the  Educated  Classes 

6.  Women's  Work  for  Women       .... 

(a)  Its  Origin  (down  to  1854) 

{i)   The  Change  in  Public  Opinion  (1S54-1S80) 

(<r)   Golden  Harvest  (from  1880)  . 

7.  Medical  Missions  ..... 

8.  Missions  to  Lepers  ..... 

CHAPTER  VI 

THE  LEAVEN  AT  WORK 

1.  The  Brahmo  Samaj  ..... 

2.  Will  o'  the  Wisps  ..... 

3.  Efforts  towards  a  Revival  of  Hinduism     . 

4.  Corresponding  Movements  in  Indian  Muhammadanism 


202 
202 
207 
209 
219 


I.  Animistic  Religions 

.       241 

2.  Popular  Hinduism 

•      249 

3.  The  Brahmans      .... 

.       252 

4.  Caste          ..... 

.       255 

5.  Pantheism              .... 

.       262 

273 
280 

285 
287 

294 
307 
323 
329 

333 
337 
341 
346 
355 


367 
378 
389 
400 


CHAPTER  VII 

THE  SUCCESS  OF  MISSIONS— THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH  OF  INDIA 

I.  Numerical  Success  .......      406 


2.  The  Component  Elements  of  a  Protestant  Native  Church 

3.  Native  Agents      ....... 

4.  The  Building  up  of  the  Christian  Church  of  India 

Appendix    ........ 

Index  ..,..,,, 


409 
420 
427 

437 
451 


HISTORY    OF    MISSIONS 
IN    INDIA 


INTRODUCTION 

I.  The  Land 

When  we  speak  of  India  in  the  following  pages  we  mean 
the  Anglo-Indian  Empire,  including  the  more  or  less  dependent 
vassal  states  and  the  insignificant  possessions  of  other  European 
powers,  but  not  as  a  rule  Burma  and  Ceylon.  The  ethnographic 
conditions  of  Burma  are  considerably  different  from  those  of 
India,  and  Ceylon  has  had  a  peculiar  historical  development. 
Both  of  these  would  therefore  require  to  be  treated  separately. 

India,  in  this  narrower  sense,  is  a  country  enclosed  on  all 
sides  by  clearly  marked  boundaries.  It  is  bounded  on  the 
north  by  the  Himalayas,  on  the  north-west  by  the  Sulaiman 
Mountains,  on  the  east  and  the  west  by  the  Bay  of  Bengal 
and  the  Arabian  Sea.  These  boundaries  form  at  the  same  time 
the  natural  defences  of  India.  On  the  north  the  mighty  range 
of  the  Himalayas,  "the  Abode  of  Snow,"  is  a  local  and  racial 
barrier  of  unique  importance.  The  Sulaiman  Mountains  on  the 
north-west  descend  to  a  lower  altitude,  but  in  front  of  them 
there  stretch  the  dreary  sandy  and  rock  wastes  of  Baluchistan, 
impeding  the  progress  of  any  marauding  conqueror.  The  broad 
gap  between  the  main  range  of  the  Himalayas  in  the  east  and 
the  Bay  of  Bengal  is  filled  with  numerous  mountain  chains 
stretching  north  and  south  which  are  covered  with  dense  track- 
less primeval  forests.  The  east  coast  of  India  from  Balasore 
in  the  north  to  Cape  Comorin  affords  no  suitable  landing-place, 
but  only  flat  sandbanks  and  a  pitiless  surf,  which  makes  all 
approach  dangerous.  And  although  the  west  coast  has  better 
harbours  and  offers  an  inducement  to  shipping  by  its  peculiar 
network  of  lagoons,  the  so-called  "  backwaters,"  a  few  miles 
behind  the  coast  there  rises  along  the  whole  length  from  north 
I 


2  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

to  south  the  steep,  almost  inaccessible  chain  of  the  Western 
Ghats  as  an  obstacle  to  the  invasion  of  the  Deccan,  India, 
thus  wonderfully  protected  by  its  natural  defences,  has  only 
two  points  containing  elements  of  weakness.  The  less  dangerous 
is  in  the  north-east,  where  the  mighty  Brahmaputra  forces  its 
way  through  the  mountain  wilds  of  the  Eastern  Himalayas,  and 
in  the  torrid  alluvial  valleys  of  Upper  Assam  offers  itself  as 
a  doorway  into  the  inner  highlands  of  Asia.  The  more  serious 
weak  spot  lies  in  the  north-west,  between  the  Himalaya  and  the 
Sulaiman  ranges,  where  the  Indus  and  the  Kabul  rivers  have 
forced  a  broad  passage  through  the  irregular  tangle  of  mountain 
masses,  while  in  the  north  the  fertile  oases  of  the  Amu  Daria  and 
Syr  Daria  secure  for  even  the  largest  army  an  easy  access  from 
Khorasan  and  Eastern  Turkistan  to  the  gates  of  India.  This 
is  the  door  of  the  nations  into  India  through  which  since  the 
dawn  of  history  hordes  of  conquerors  have  sought  a  path  to 
the  treasures  of  the  coveted  land. 

India  thus  circumscribed  maybe  compared  to  a  rhomboid — 
a  rhomboid  made  up  of  two  unequal  triangles.  This  was 
observed  even  by  the  early  Greek  geographers.  Looking  from 
the  south,  we  see  before  us  the  peninsula  proper  of  India,  the 
Deccan,  or  South  Land,  one  of  the  oldest  geological  formations 
of  Asia,  a  raised  plateau  overhung  by  irregular  hilly  peaks  and 
wooded  ranges.  On  the  west  it  slopes  sharply  down  to  the 
coast,  on  the  east  it  inclines  gradually  towards  the  Bay  of 
Bengal,  and  on  the  north  it  merges  itself  in  the  mountainous 
country  of  the  Vindhya  and  Satpura  ranges,  which  is  covered 
with  immense  primeval  forests  and  crossed  in  all  directions  by 
irregular  mountain  spurs.  North  of  this  southern  triangle  there 
stretches  in  its  immensity  the  wide  alluvial  plain,  of  a  later 
geological  formation,  which  fills  the  broad  space  between  the 
northern  base  of  the  Vindhya  plateau  and  the  southern  edge 
of  the  Himalayas.  It  is  traversed  by  the  mightiest  rivers  of 
India,  the  Indus,  the  Ganges,  and  the  Brahmaputra,  the  gracious 
life-giving  arteries  of  that  land  of  heat.  The  blessings  of  the 
Brahmaputra  and  the  Indus  are  received  only  in  part  by 
India.  The  upper  reaches  of  the  Brahmaputra  He  in  the 
mountainous  wastes  of  inland  Asia,  and  only  its  lower  waters 
fertilise  the  country.  The  Indus  in  its  upper  courses  forces  its 
way  with  difficulty  through  the  deep  valleys  of  the  Himalayas, 
and  in  its  lower  reaches  loses  itself  in  the  sandy  wastes  of  the 
wilderness  of  Sind,  so  that  it  is  only  in  the  middle  of  its  course 
that  with  the  help  of  its  five  great  tributaries  it  waters  the 
Punjab,  "the  Land,"  as  its  names  implies,  "of  the  Five  Rivers." 
The  Ganges,  on  the  other  hand,  early  in  its  course  enters  the 
plain  of  Hindustan,  and   traverses  it  with  its  numerous  and 


INTRODUCTION  3 

well-filled  tributaries  from  Hardwar  at  the  foot  of  the  Himalayas 
to  its  widely  ramified  delta  in  Lower  Bengal.  It  is  one  of  the 
largest  and  most  beneficent  streams  in  the  world,  the  creator  of 
the  most  fertile  districts  of  India,  and  the  vehicle  of  its  commerce 
and  civilisation.  It  is  not  without  reason  that  the  grateful 
dwellers  on  its  banks  regard  it  as  the  sacred  river  of  India,  and 
celebrate  it  in  numerous  songs  as  the  Source  of  Blessing  and 
Mother  of  Life.  North  of  the  plain  of  Hindustan  India 
penetrates — sometimes  for  great  distances,  sometimes  less  ex- 
tensively— into  the  mountainous  wilds  of  the  Himalayas.  In 
Kashmir,  Lower  Tibet,  Kumaon,  Garhwal,  Sikkim,  and  other 
districts,  it  attains  the  very  heart  of  these  magnificent  alpine 
territories.  The  mountainous  districts  in  the  Himalayas  must 
be  regarded  not  only  as  the  northern  boundary,  but  as  a 
separate  third  division  of  India  proper. 

India  is  divided  by  the  tropic  of  Cancer  approximately  into 
two  equal  parts,  of  which  the  southern  lies  in  the  tropics,  and 
the  northern  in  the  sub-tropical  zone.  The  most  northerly 
mountain  districts  in  the  Himalayas,  Dardistan  and  Chitral, 
are  in  the  same  latitude  as  Crete  and  Malta.  The  climate  of 
India,  in  consequence  of  its  southern  position,  is  determined 
chiefly  by  the  monsoons,  or  trade  winds,  which  blow  with  great 
regularity.  From  the  end  of  March  onwards,  when  the  sun  in 
its  northward  course  is  approaching  the  tropic  of  Cancer,  the 
vast  area  of  India,  through  the  more  direct  action  of  its  rays, 
becomes  heated  to  a  greater  degree  than  the  surrounding  sea. 
As  a  result  of  this  excessive  heating  of  the  air  there  occurs  an 
upward  atmospheric  movement,  and  there  is  a  barometrical 
minimum  all  over  India.  Then  cool  winds  from  the  icefields 
of  the  South  Pole  begin  to  blow  across  the  watery  expanse  of 
the  Indian  Ocean  in  a  north-westerly  direction  (corresponding 
to  the  rotation  of  the  Earth)  towards  the  Equator,  and  (in 
accordance  with  the  same  law)  are  diverted  on  the  other  side 
of  the  Equator  in  a  northerly  direction.  This  current  of  air, 
carrying  with  it  mighty  and  limitless  masses  of  moisture,  is 
irresistibly  attracted  by  the  barometrical  depression  which  has 
taken  place  in  India,  and  is  diverted  in  a  north-easterly 
direction.  It  discharges  itself  from  the  middle  of  June  onwards 
as  the  south-west  monsoon  over  the  parched  and  over-heated 
areas  of  India,  precipitating  its  moisture  on  the  mountains  in 
deluges  of  rain.  Meantime  the  sun  has  rounded  the  tropic  of 
Cancer  and  begun  its  return  journey  across  the  Equator  in  the 
direction  of  the  tropic  of  Capricorn.  The  area  affected  by  its 
rays  is  consequently  changed,  and  its  greatest  heat  is  now 
experienced  far  south  of  India  over  the  Indian  Ocean.  As  a 
result  of  this  a  revolution  takes  place  in  the  currents  of  air. 


4  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

The  south-west  monsoon,  which  had  struck  the  west  coast  of 
India  and  watered  the  country  right  up  to  the  Himalayas, 
diminishes  in  force.  The  parallel  current  of  air  and  moisture 
which  had  fertilised  the  coasts  of  Further  India  now  turns  in  the 
Bay  of  Bengal  on  its  backward  journey,  seeking  to  reach  the 
new  barometrical  minimum  in  the  south  of  the  Indian  Ocean, 
and  in  its  course  strikes  the  south-east  of  India,  and  especially 
the  Madras  Presidency,  from  October  to  December,  as  the 
north-east  monsoon,  conveying  in  this  indirect  fashion  to  its 
hot  dried  area  a  portion  of  its  beneficent  moisture.  While  the 
general  current  of  air  is  thus  directed  from  north  to  south, 
there  stream  towards  India  from  the  north  and  north-west, 
from  the  south-east  of  Europe  and  the  north-west  of  Asia,  dry 
cold  winds  which  produce  a  general  cooling  and  drying  of  the 
land  area.  The  main  effect  of  this  simple  meteorological 
process  repeated  with  great  regularity  year  by  year  is  to  give 
a  hot  and  a  cool  season,  the  former  when  the  sun  is  north  of 
the  Equator,  the  latter  when  it  is  south  of  it ;  that  is  to  say, 
speaking  in  the  most  general  terms,  a  summer  from  April  to 
October  and  a  cool  season  during  our  winter.  This  distinction, 
which  is  less  marked  in  South  India  with  regard  to  both  seasons, 
is  essentially  modified  by  the  advent  of  the  monsoon.  The 
south-west  monsoon  occasions  in  the  area  affected  by  it,  which 
is  by  far  the  greater  part  of  India,  a  rainy  season  from  June  to 
September.  The  north-east  monsoon  produces  in  the  south-east 
of  India,  i.e.  in  the  Madras  Presidency,  a  rainy  season  from  the 
middle  of  October  to  January.  As  a  result  the  seasons  are  some- 
what different  in  the  different  parts  of  India.  The  usual  method 
of  reckoning  is  to  speak  of  a  rainy,  a  cool,  and  a  hot  season. 

Like  all  tropical  and  sub-tropical  countries,  India  is 
dependent  for  its  fertility  in  the  first  instance  upon  the  rain- 
fall. Where  the  land  is  regularly  and  adequately  watered  by 
the  monsoon  rains  it  revels  in  the  most  luxuriant  productivity 
and  is  capable  of  supporting  a  numerous  population.  Where 
the  monsoon  rains  fall  sparsely  and  only  at  long  intervals,  the 
land  becomes  a  wilderness.  When  they  are  unexpectedly 
delayed,  drought  and  famine  threaten.  The  principal  monsoon, 
as  we  have  seen,  is  that  from  the  south-west.  It  strikes  the 
south-west  coast  of  India,  and  since  immediately  behind  this 
there  rises  the  lofty  rampart  of  the  Western  Ghats,  the  low- 
hanging  clouds  are  compelled  to  discharge  the  first  fulness  of 
their  blessing  on  the  strip  of  coast  which  forms  the  long  and 
narrow  coast  districts  of  Travancore,  Cochin,  Malabar,  South 
Kanara,  and  the  Konkan.  These  blossom  accordingly  in  an 
almost  inexhaustible  productivity,  and  support  an  exceedingly 
dense  population.     With  an  annual  rainfall  on  the  west  coast 


INTRODUCTION  5 

of  100  inches,  there  is  a  population  of  390  to  520  to  the  square 
mile.^  When  the  rain-clouds  of  the  south-west  monsoon  have 
crossed  the  barrier  of  the  Ghats  they  are  met  by  no  serious 
obstacle  in  the  broad,  gently  undulating  plateau  of  the  Deccan, 
and  are  not  compelled  to  surrender  to  it  much  of  their  moisture. 
The  consequence  is  that  the  yearly  rainfall  sinks  to  under 
30  inches,  and  consequently  what  would  otherwise  be  a  fruitful 
country  can  only  maintain  a  population  of  from  130  to  260  per 
square  mile.  Nothing  further  exists  to  impede  the  course  of 
the  monsoon  until  it  encounters  a  final  and  insurmountable 
obstacle  in  the  soaring  mountain  range  of  the  Himalayas. 
Here  all  the  remaining  moisture  is  discharged  as  rain  on 
the  broad  plains  lying  at  their  base,  or  as  snow  upon 
the  extensive  mountain  slopes.  This  snow,  which  thaws 
gradually  throughout  the  whole  year,  is  an  unfailing  source 
of  productivity  to  the  plains ;  and  since  the  rain-clouds  of  the 
south-west  monsoon,  when  they  have  skirted  the  mountains  of 
Further  India,  discharge  their  moisture  in  Bengal  and  the 
adjoining  regions,  we  find  here  again  districts  with  a  large 
rainfall  and  a  corresponding  density  of  population.  Since  the 
south-west  monsoon  strikes  the  Himalayas  along  the  region 
opposite  the  United  Provinces,  and  from  there  eastwards  as  far 
as  Assam,  the  greatest  rainfall  is  found  in  the  eastern  districts, 
and  gradually  decreases  towards  the  west  and  north-west. 
Assam  has  a  yearly  rainfall  of  90.5  inches,  while  that  of  the 
delta  of  Bengal  is  nearly  80  inches :  this  latter  region  supports 
a  population  of  718  persons  to  the  square  mile;  while  in 
separate  districts,  such  as  North  Bihar,  it  reaches  830  to  the 
square  mile.  In  the  United  Provinces,  while  the  rainfall  is  only 
47.2  inches,  the  population  maintains  an  average  of  638  to  the 
square  mile.  In  Western  Rajputana  the  rainfall  sinks  to 
1 1  inches,  and  in  British  Baluchistan  to  8  inches  and  less. 
These  districts  have  consequently  only  a  population  that 
varies  from  3  to  104  inhabitants  per  square  mile.  The  density 
of  population  in  Bengal  and  the  United  Provinces,  an 
area  about  2|  times  that  of  England,  Scotland,  and 
Wales,  is  not  very  much  less  than  in  Great  Britain  (445  to 
the  square  mile).  Likewise  the  Madras  Presidency,  which 
is  by  no  means  universally  fertile,  and  which  is  more  than 
half  as  large  as  the  German  Empire,  is  on  an  average  (with 
42,500,000  inhabitants)  populated  half  as  thickly  again  as  is 
the  Fatherland.  We  ought  to  admit  that  included  in  these 
figures  are  such  abnormally  populated  centres  as  e.g.  a  "  taluq  " 

^  The  rainfall  in  Great  Britain  varies  from  about  22  inches  in  the  midland 
counties  of  England  to  about  44  inches  on  the  west  of  Scotland.  The  average 
density  of  the  population  in  England  and  Wales  is  nearly  500  per  square  mile. 


6  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

(district)  in  Cochin,  which  has  as  manj^  as  2500  inhabitants 
per  square  mile  (whereas  even  the  industrial  districts  of 
Saxony,  one  of  the  most  thickly  populated  regions  in  Europe, 
can  only  show  728  per  square  mile).  And  although,  in  spite 
of  this,  the  whole  Empire  of  India,  with  an  area  of  1,766,597 
square  miles,  has  only  294,361,056  inhabitants,  that  is  to  say 
on  an  average  about  166  to  the  square  mile,  this  is  due  to  the 
fact  that  the  average  is  reduced  by  the  very  extensive  but 
thinly  populated  territories  outside  India  proper,  such  as 
Baluchistan,  Chitral,  Kashmir,  and  Burma. 

It  is  strikingly  characteristic  of  this  vast  teeming  population 
that  as  a  whole  it  seems  to  have  very  little  partiality  for  city 
life.  While  in  England  a  third,  and  in  Germany  a  sixth  of  the 
total  population  are  crowded  together  in  a  very  few  cities  of 
over  a  hundred  thousand  inhabitants,  India  has  only  twenty- 
nine  such  cities  with  an  aggregate  population  of  under  7,000,000, 
or  less  than  a  fiftieth  of  the  population.  Only  a  tenth  of  the 
population  live  in  towns  and  villages  which  have  more  than 
5000  inhabitants,  the  remaining  nine-tenths  preferring  to  be 
scattered  far  and  wide  over  the  country  in  innumerable  villages. 
India  is  the  land  of  villages.  Intimately  connected  with  this 
fact  is  the  other,  that  by  far  the  greater  part  of  the  population 
is  dependent  for  its  support  upon  agriculture  and  the  pursuits 
closely  related  thereto.  Fifty-two  per  cent,  of  the  population 
are  large  or  small  landowners  and  tenants,  while  a  further 
twelve  per  cent,  are  day  or  farm  labourers. 


2.  The  People 

India,  including  Ceylon,  has  upwards  ot  297,000,000  inhabit- 
ants, of  whom  283,000,000  are  in  India  proper,  over  10,000,000 
in  Burma,  3,000,000  in  Ceylon,  and  rather  less  than  a  million  in 
British  Baluchistan.  They  include  the  most  diverse  races  and 
languages.  When  we  attempt  to  form  even  the  most  general 
conception  regarding  them  we  meet  with  unsolved  problems 
and  questions  to  which  the  most  different  answers  have  been 
given.  The  perplexity  is  increased  by  the  fact  that  as  the 
result  of  recent  investigation  many  of  the  views  which  hitherto 
commanded  general  acceptance  have  been  either  exploded  or 
superseded.  The  whole  of  the  south  of  India  is  occupied  by  a 
population  with  long  heads  and  broad  noses,  of  medium  height 
and  a  dark  complexion,  which  it  has  been  the  custom,  following 
the  not  wholly  unimpeachable  example  of  the  Sanskrit  litera- 
ture, to  call  without  further  explanation  Dravidians.  To  this 
group,   regarded    from    a    linguistic   standpoint,   there   belong 


INTRODUCTION  7 

fourteen  peoples  or  tribal  stems,  with  an  aggregate  of  over 
56,000,000  persons:  the  Tamils  numbering  16,500,000,  the 
Malayalams  6,000,000,  the  Telugus  nearly  21,000,000,  the 
Kanarese  10,300,000,  the  Gonds  1,125,000,  and  the  Oraons  (who 
speak  Kurukh)  591,886.  The  less  important  languages  and 
dialects  are  Kandh  (500,000),  Tulu  (535,210),  Kodagu  (Coorgi) 
(39)190)  Malto  (spoken  by  the  Pahari  in  the  Rajmahal  Hills) 
(60,777),  Brahui  (in  Baluchistan)  (48,589),  Toda,  Kota,  and 
Malhar.  The  languages  of  these  peoples  are  for  the  most 
part  closely  related  to  one  another,  in  some  cases  as  closely 
as  the  different  Romance  languages  in  South-Western  Europe. 
They  are  polysyllabic,  agglutinative  languages.  The  suffixes, 
however,  show  a  tendency  to  undergo  alteration  for  reasons  of 
euphony,sometimes  rejectingconsonants  and  sometimes  changing 
vowel  sounds ;  thus  already  showing  an  inclination  towards  in- 
flection. But  although  the  suffixes  occasionally  lose  their 
original  form,  they  are  still  separable  from  the  root,  which  on 
its  part  is  unchangeable.  Only  with  reference  to  things  living, 
and  even  here  but  in  a  restricted  degree,  is  a  distinction  made 
between  masculine  and  feminine  genders ;  everything  which  is 
not  living  is  neuter.  One  peculiarity  is  a  double  plural  in  the 
first  person,  according  as  the  person  addressed  is  included  or 
excluded.  The  verb  is  without  a  passive  mood,  but  on  the 
other  hand  there  is  a  separate  form  of  the  verb  to  express 
negation  as  distinct  from  affirmation. 

Regarded  even  as  a  linguistic  group,  the  Dravidians  give 
rise  to  great  perplexity.  What  is  the  actual  state  of  things, 
for  example,  with  regard  to  the  Brahuis  of  Baluchistan  ?  They 
obviously  speak  a  Dravidian  language,  but  they  are  so  widely 
separated  from  the  other  members  of  the  same  linguistic  family 
that  a  connecting  link  is  sought  for  in  vain.  An  attempt  has 
been  made  to  regard  the  Brahuis  as  a  proof  that  the  Dravidians 
in  early  times  entered  India  from  the  north-west,  the  Brahuis 
being  supposed  to  have  settled  down  midway  in  the  course  of 
the  migration.  Unfortunately,  the  observations  of  anthro- 
pologists are  decisive  against  any  such  supposition.  The 
Brahuis  have  broad  skulls  (index  80  to  85),  the  Dravidians 
long  skulls  (index  71  to  T^)-^  the  Brahuis  have  extraordinarily 
long  but  narrow  noses  (index  68  to  80),  while  the  Dravidians 
are  characteristically  a  broad-nosed  race  (index  74  to  95). 
The  Brahuis  as  a  rule  are  tall  (5  ft.  5  in.),  the  Dravidians  under 
medium  height  (5  ft.  i  in.  to  5  ft.  4  in.).  The  Brahuis  in  their 
physical  characteristics  are  indistinguishable  from  the  Turko- 
Iranian  type  by  which  they  are  surrounded.  How  they  obtain 
their  Dravidian  language  no  one  can  tell.  That  they  are 
Dravidian  is  extremely  improbable. 


8  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

It  is  still  more  remarkable  that  alongside  of  the  Dravidians 
in  the  north  and  north-east  of  the  Deccan  plateau,  and  especi- 
ally in  the  irregular  hilly  and  wooded  region  which  forms  its 
northern  extremity,  there  is  found  a  second  linguistic  family 
which  has  at  once  striking  resemblances  to,  and  surprising 
divergences  from,  the  Dravidian  languages.  These  have  been 
called  the  Munda  languages,  after  one  of  the  chief  representa- 
tives of  the  group.  Since  the  year  1866  the  misleading  term 
Kolarian  has  been  introduced  as  an  alternative  designation, 
and  later  still  the  arbitrary  Kherwarian.  We  shall  have  to 
consider  more  closely  the  peculiarities  and  distribution  of 
this  group  of  languages  when  we  come  to  treat  of  the  history 
of  individual  missions  at  work  amongst  these  peoples.  We  are 
here  concerned  with  the  question  of  the  relation  in  which  these 
Munda  peoples  stand  to  the  Dravidians.  In  their  physical 
characteristics  no  definite  anthropometrical  difference  can  be 
detected.  On  anthropological  principles  they  form  with  the 
Dravidians  one  single  racial  group.  In  fact,  the  Munda  races 
are  from  an  anthropological  point  of  view  precisely  the  most 
characteristic  expression  of  the  Dravidian  type.  At  the  same 
time  they  are  so  different  in  build  and  in  feature  that  an 
experienced  missionary  can  distinguish  a  Munda  from  an 
Oraon  at  the  first  glance.  In  customs  and  character  there 
is  a  profound  difference.  Their  mythology  points  to  a  different 
origin,  and  the  languages  are  so  different  even  in  their  very 
vowel  sounds  that  a  Munda  can  never  learn  to  pronounce 
certain  Oraon  expressions.  Whether  it  be  possible  to  demon- 
strate any  connection  between  the  Munda  and  Dravidian 
languages  is  still  an  unsolved  question.  Much  can  be  urged 
in  support  of  such  a  relationship,  perhaps  still  more  against  it. 
At  any  rate,  the  Munda  and  the  Dravidian  peoples  live  side  by 
side  with  each  other  in  so  remarkable  a  way  that  one  is 
strongly  tempted  to  indulge  in  hazardous  hypotheses  regarding 
the  migrations  of  both  groups. 

What  then  is  the  relation  which  these  two  groups,  the 
Munda  and  Dravidian,  bear  to  the  other  great  racial  and  lin- 
guistic families  of  the  world  ?  For  long  an  attempt  was  made  to 
assign  the  Dravidians  to  the  Turko-Finnish  or  Turanian  racial 
and  linguistic  family,  principally  because  they  both  spoke  highly 
developed  agglutinative  languages ;  the  Santali  language,  in 
its  remarkable  clearness  and  lucidity,  in  its  logical  consistency 
and  its  flexibility,  is  regarded  as  closely  allied  to  Turkish, 
the  darling  of  the  philologists.  Upon  this  has  been  based  a 
theory  that  a  migration  of  the  Munda  and  Dravidians  took  place 
from  Central  Asia  into  India.  But  such  a  theory  finds  no 
support  in  anthropology.     The  interior  of  Central  Asia,  so  far 


INTRODUCTION  9 

as  we  can  trace  matters  back  scientifically,  has  always  been 
inhabited  by  people  with  broad  skulls,  of  whom  the  majority 
have  in  addition  flat  eyes,  i.e.  eyes  that  appear  to  slant ;  and 
narrow  noses  largely  predominate  among  them.  None  of  these 
features  are  applicable  to  the  Dravidians  or  Munda,  even  apart 
from  the  fact  that  the  characteristically  dark  colour  of  the 
skin  of  these  peoples  would  still  require  explanation.  Similarly 
the  relations  and  affinities  which  it  has  been  attempted  to 
establish  with  the  Mongolian  immigrants  of  Further  India,  with 
the  Papuans  of  Australia  and  the  Alisures  of  the  Philippines, 
furnish  us  at  any  rate  for  the  present  with  no  clear  direction. 
In  the  meantime  we  must  remain  content  with  the  fact  that  the 
Munda  and  Dravidians  are  the  original  inhabitants  of  India, 
regarding  whose  immigration  absolutely  no  clear  traces  can  be 
discovered.  All  that  can  be  asserted  with  some  degree  of 
probability,  in  view  of  the  present  locations  of  both  peoples,  is 
that  the  Munda  were  dispossessed  by  the  Dravidians  as  they 
pressed  forward  towards  the  north  and  the  north-east. 

Besides  the  Dravidians  and  the  Munda  we  find  in  India  a 
widespread  group  of  languages,  predominant  in  the  north  and 
west,  which  all  trace  their  origin  to  Sanskrit,  and  through  it 
have  striking  affinities  with  the  European  languages.  Scholars 
have  not  been  able  to  agree  on  a  common  comprehensive  name 
for  this  linguistic  family;  perhaps  "  Indo-Germanic"  is  the 
designation  in  most  common  use.  Representatives  of  three 
characteristically  different  branches  of  this  linguistic  family  are 
found  in  India — the  Perso-Iranian  branch,  the  non-Sanskrit 
branch,  and,  most  important  of  all,  that  great  and  exclusive 
family  of  the  daughter  languages  of  Sanskrit  which  for  the  sake 
of  simplicity  we  shall  call  the  Indo-Aryan  languages.  These 
three  are  spoken  by  nearly  220,000,000  people,  or  three-fourths 
of  the  entire  inhabitants  of  the  Indian  Empire,  and  they 
therefore  deserve  a  somewhat  more  detailed  treatment.  The 
modern  practice  is  to  divide  them  into  three  groups  : — ■ 

I.  The  Outer  Group — 

In  the  north-west :  Kashmiri,  Kohistani,  Lahnda,  Sindhi. 
In  the  south  :  Marathi  (18,250,000). 

In  the  east  :  Oriya  (9,600,000),  Bihari  (34,500,000),  Bengali 

(44,600,000),  Assamese  (1,300,000). 

II.  The  Middle  Group— 

Eastern  Hindi  (22,000,000). 
III.  The  Inner  Group — 

In  the  west :  Western      Hindi      (40,750,000),      Rajasthani 

(11,000,000),  Gujarati  (10,000,000),  Panjabi 
(17,000,000). 
In  the  north  :  Western,  Central,  and  Eastern  Pahari  (with  an 

aggregate  of  3,000,000). 


lo  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

When  we  ask  how  these  Indo-Aryan  languages  reached 
India,  we  are  confronted  by  the  interesting  problem,  debated  in 
former  times  with  so  much  enthusiasm  and  partisanship,  of  the 
immigrations  of  the  Indo-Germanic  peoples.  Where  was  the 
original  home  of  these  peoples  in  whose  hands  the  control  of 
the  world  has  lain  for  centuries  ?  At  first  an  attempt  was 
made  to  locate  it  in  the  plateau  of  Central  Asia,  then  in 
Scandinavia,  or  the  Baltic  Provinces  of  Russia,  then  in 
Southern  Russia  and  in  the  Steppes  between  Asia  and  Europe 
— or  even  in  the  Punjab  !  The  problem  need  not  concern  us  here. 
We  may  content  ourselves  with  the  practically  uncontested 
fact  that  the  peoples  it  is  customary  to  call  the  Aryans  ^  forced 
their  way  into  the  Punjab  from  the  north-west.  As  to  when 
and  how  this  immigration  occurred  we  know  practically  nothing, 
and  it  is  impossible  to  discuss  here  the  numerous  hypotheses  of 
Orientalists  on  the  subject.  During  the  first  two-thirds  of  last 
century  the  science  of  comparative  philology,  the  brilliant 
discovery  of  the  nineteenth  century,  dominated  the  scientific 
world  to  such  an  extent  that  its  real  or  assumed  results  were 
at  once  made  the  foundation  for  historical  and  ethnographical 
theories.  Owing  to  the  fact  that  the  Indo-Aryan  languages 
prevail  universally  in  North  India,  predominate  in  Central 
India,  and  extend  far  down  both  the  east  and  the  west  coasts, 
it  became  customary  to  speak  of  a  great  Aryan  conquest  of 
India,  to  assume  without  question  that  the  races  speaking 
Indo-Aryan  languages  were  of  Aryan  blood,  and  consequently 
to  distinguish  an  Aryan  North  India  from  a  Dravidian  South 
India.  In  more  recent  times,  however,  this  view  has  been 
fundamentally  discredited,  although  it  has  not  been  found 
possible  to  substitute  for  it  any  other  equally  simple  theory. 
Two  large  groups  of  facts  exist  side  by  side  which  have  not 
yet  been  satisfactorily  related  and  adjusted  to  one  another — 
facts  linguistic  and  facts  anthropometrical." 

To  take  the  former  first,  recent  investigations  have  shown 
that  the  Indo-Aryan  languages  fall  into  two  groups,  of  which 
the  "  Inner  group  "  comprises  the  western  half  of  the  United 
Provinces,  the  Punjab,  Rajputana,  Gujarat,  and  the  Central 
Indian  States.     The  scientific  world  is  pretty  well  agreed  that 

^  The  explanation  of  the  name  is  doubtful  ;  the  immigrants  did  not  themselves 
adopt  it  as  a  national  name,  and  it  owes  its  origin  to  modern  Orientalists. 

"^  In  passing  we  may  call  attention  to  a  third  fact.  A  great  deal  has  been  said 
about  Indo-Aryan  culture  and  the  transition  from  savagery  to  a  relatively  higher 
civilisation  which  the  Aryan  immigration  effected  in  India.  But  we  are  confronted 
with  the  surprising  fact  that  in  the  north-west  of  India,  precisely  in  the  regions  in 
which  the  relatively  purest  Aryans  are  supposed  to  dwell,  the  degree  of  culture  is 
generally  speaking  at  its  lowest,  and  the  number  of  illiterates  highest.  These 
"Aryan  Provinces"  are  with  respect  to  culture  and  intellectual  keenness  left  far  in 
the  shade  by  the  Mongoloid  Bengalis  and  the  Dravidian  Tamils  ! 


INTRODUCTION  1 1 

this  linguistic  region  comprises — with  a  very  wide  circumference, 
of  course — the  Madhyadesa,  the  famous  ancient  "  Middle 
Country,"  the  original  home  of  Aryan  civilisation.  Round 
about  this  "  Inner  "  group  of  languages  there  stretches  in  the  most 
singular  way,  on  the  west  (Kashmiri,  Lahnda,  Sindhi),  on  the 
south  (Marathi),  and  on  the  east  (Bihari,  Bengali,  Oriya,  and 
Assamese),  a  large  group  of  closely  related  languages  which 
nevertheless  present  markedly  distinct  forms.  The  differences 
of  the  "Inner"  and  "Outer"  groups  of  languages  are  shown 
especially  in  the  manner  of  declension  and  conjugation.  In 
declension  the  "  Inner"  languages  are  at  the  transition  stage, 
in  which  the  original  inflected  endings  have  almost  entirely 
disappeared,  and  have  been  replaced  by  auxiliary  words  which 
have  not  yet  become  a  part  of  the  root,  such  as  the  suffixes, 
ka,  ko,  se,  etc.  The  "  Outer "  languages  have  gone  a  stage 
further  in  linguistic  development  and  have  incorporated  these 
suffixes,  thus  forming  new  declensions  with  inflected  endings. 
In  the  matter  of  conjugation  only  two  tenses  (the  present  and 
the  future)  and  three  participles  (present,  past  perfect,  and 
future  passive)  have  been  retained  out  of  the  rich  construction 
of  the  old  Indian  verb  ;  all  other  forms  must  be  made  by 
circumlocutions  and  auxiliary  words,  as  in  German  and  English. 
The  "Inner"  languages,  however,  are  content  to  employ  the 
simple  predicates  without  any  indication  of  the  person,  or  any 
change  of  form.  "  Mara,"  for  example,  means  "  I,  thou,  he,  she, 
we,  you,  or  they  struck."  On  the  other  hand,  the  "Outer" 
languages  attach  enclitic  pronouns  to  the  predicates  to  indicate 
the  doer  of  an  action,  as  in  Latin  and  Greek.  Hence  the 
grammar  of  the  "  Inner"  languages  can  be  given  in  a  few  pages, 
like  that  of  English,  while  in  the  "  Outer  "  languages  more  or  less 
complicated  declensions  have  to  be  learned. 

What  explanation  then  can  be  offered  of  the  fact  that  the 
"  Inner  "  languages  are  surrounded  by  the  "  Outer"  in  an  almost 
complete  circle?  An  attempt  has  been  made  to  solve  the 
problem  by  distinguishing  two  main  periods  of  Aryan  immi- 
gration, and  supposing  that  a  considerable  time  after  the  first 
period  came  to  an  end,  a  second  Aryan  advance  took  place 
which  pressing  into  the  midst  of  the  earlier  settlers  established 
itself  in  the  central  portion  of  the  country,  and  through  the 
naturally  expansive  power  of  a  superior  culture,  drove  back  on 
all  sides  the  representatives  of  the  previous  immigration.  Such 
is  the  ingenious  hypothesis  of  Dr.  Hornle,  which  has  also 
obtained  the  support  of  the  linguistic  and  anthropological 
experts  of  the  Census  Report  for  1901,  Dr.  Grierson  and 
Sir  Herbert  Risley. 

We  enter  a  different  sphere  when  we  turn  our  attention  to 


12  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

the  anthropological  facts.  These  are  all  the  more  deserving  of 
careful  consideration  since  in  recent  years  comprehensive 
investigations  and  measurements^  have  been  undertaken  in  all 
parts  of  India  by  a  large  scientific  Commission.  As  a  result  of 
these  investigations  the  peoples  of  India  have  been  divided 
into  five  groups. 

In  the  Punjab,  Rajputana,  and  Kashmir  there  are  found 
peoples  surprisingly  like  one  another  in  essential  respects,  with 
long  skulls,  narrow  noses,  high  stature,  a  very  light-coloured 
skin,  dark  eyes,  and  plentiful  hair — in  short,  somewhat  like  what 
the  Aryan  immigrants  are  supposed  to  have  been.  These 
are  known  as  the  Indo-Aryan  type.  From  an  anthropological 
standpoint  it  can  hardly  be  questioned  that  they  form  a  single 
racial  group,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  half  of  them  speak 
languages  belonging  to  the  "  Inner"  group,  and  the  other  half 
languages  of  the  "  Outer  "  group.  The  hypotheses  which  have 
often  been  advanced  with  great  confidence,  that  the  Rajputs  or 
the  Jats  of  the  Punjab  are  of  Scythian  origin,  are  untenable 
both  on  anthropological  and  linguistic  grounds. 

Farther  east,  principally  in  the  plains  of  the  Ganges  as  far 
as  Bihar,  we  find  dense  masses  of  population  in  whom  there  is 
an  obvious  intermingling  of  two  different  types.  They  also 
have  long  skulls  ;  but  their  noses  vary  from  medium  to  broad, 
their  stature  is  for  the  most  part  less  than  medium,  and  the 
colour  of  their  skin  varies  from  light  brown  to  black.  The 
peculiarity  is,  that  the  noses  are  narrower,  the  height  greater, 
and  the  skin  lighter  among  the  upper  classes  and  castes,  while 
the  noses  become  broader,  the  height  less,  and  the  skin  darker 
the  lower  we  descend  in  the  social  scale.  The  breadth  of  the 
nose  has  indeed  been  taken  as  a  standard  of  social  position. 
At  the  top  of  the  scale  are  the  Bhuinhars,  the  aristocrats  of 
Hindustan  and  Bihar  (with  a  nasal  index  of  73);  after  them 
come  the  Bihar  Brahmans  (73.2),  while  quite  at  the  bottom 
are  the  Hindustani  Chamars  (with  a  nasal  index  of  86),  and  the 
degraded  Musahars  of  Bihar  (88.7).  This  type  has  been  called 
the  Aryo-Dravidian  or  the  Hindustani.  How  characteristically 
different  it  is  from  the  Indo-Aryan  type  of  the  Punjab  is  shown, 
for  example,  by  the  fact  that  the  Hindustani  Brahmans,  with 
a  skull  index  almost  the  same  as  the  despised  Churahs  of  the 
Punjab,  have  a  much  higher  percentage  of  broad  noses,  a  fact 
which  points  to  an  intermingling  of  Dravidian  blood. 

When  we   turn  farther   to  the  west,  towards    Bengal   and 

Orissa,  we  find   broad   skulls,  noses  varying  from   medium   to 

broad,  a  stature  from  medium  to  short,  and  a  dark  skin.     It  is 

one  of  the  most  distinctly  pronounced  types  in  India,  and  can 

^  See  A  in  Appendix. 


INTRODUCTION  1 3 

be  easily  recognised,  no  matter  where  the  Bengali's  pre-eminent 
capacity  as  a  civil  servant  may  have  led  him.  It  has  been  called 
the  Mongolo-Dravidian  or  Bengali  type.  The  characteristic 
distinction  is  found  in  the  broad  skull.  While  the  Brahmans  of 
Hindustan  have  a  skull  index  of  73-74,  and  the  Rajputs  of  72.4, 
the  Brahmans  of  Bengal  have  an  index  of  79  and  over.  As  we 
pass  from  west  to  east  in  Bengal,  there  occurs  gradually  a  very 
marked  predominance  of  Mongoloid  features,  especially  with 
regard  to  the  shape  of  the  skull.  So  much  is  this  the  case  that 
the  Kachhi,  or  Kotch,  in  Eastern  Bengal,  whose  conversion  to 
Hinduism  dates  from  comparatively  late  times,  have  been 
regarded  sometimes  as  "  a  Dravidian  race,"  and  sometimes  as  of 
"  decisively  Mongoloid  "  origin,  according  as  the  investigator  has 
arrived  from  the  west  or  from  the  east.  We  have  already 
observed  with  respect  to  the  Hindustani  type  that  the  Brahmans 
are  not  obviously  distinguishable  from  the  mass  of  the  people, 
and  do  not  even  possess  the  finest  features  to  be  found  in  their 
type,  and  we  find  the  same  thing  to  be  true  in  a  higher  degree 
of  the  Bengali  Brahmans.  It  is  unquestionable  that  there  is  an 
infusion  of  Aryan  blood  in  their  families,  but  it  is  not  strong 
enough  to  distinguish  them  as  a  caste  from  the  average  Bengali 
population  as  being  "  pure  Aryans "  or  otherwise  exceptional. 
In  spite  of  the  Indo-Aryan  languages,  from  an  ethnological 
standpoint,  the  west  of  Bengal  is  predominantly  Dravidian,  the 
east  predominantly  Mongoloid. 

The  south  of  India,  comprising  a  much  larger  area  than  that 
in  which  the  Munda-Dravidian  languages  are  spoken  at  the 
present  day,  and  extending  well  into  Hindustan,  is  occupied  by 
a  population  which  are  marked  out  as  another  and  characteristic 
type  by  skulls  varying  from  medium  to  long,  broad  noses,  a 
stature  varying  from  less  than  medium  to  short,  and  a  dark 
skin.  It  is  known  as  the  Dravidian.  In  the  higher  castes  and 
upper  strata  of  society  the  distinguishing  features  are  of  course 
partially  obliterated ;  the  noses  become  narrower,  the  skin 
lighter,  and  the  figure  more  slender — clear  proofs  of  an  infusion, 
however  slight,  of  Indo-Aryan  blood.  But  even  among  these 
castes  there  are  found  so  many  specifically  Dravidian  features 
that  it  would  be  a  profitless  task  to  try  to  distinguish  them  from 
the  rest  of  the  population  as  later  immigrants  of  one  kind  or 
another.  Here  also  it  is  remarkable  that  the  Brahmans  by  no 
means  possess  the  finest  features,  or  those  which  resemble  most 
closely  the  Indo-Aryans  of  the  Punjab.  With  an  average 
height  of  only  63.8  inches  (compared  with  68.2  inches  among 
the  Rajputs,  74.3  inches  among  the  Jats,  and  even  considerably 
above  66.3  inches  among  the  degraded  Churahs),  and  average 
breadth  of  nose  of  'j^.'j  (compared,  moreover,  with  only  75.2 


14  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

among  the  despised  Churahs  of  the  Punjab,  and  70.3  among  the 
Brahmans  of  Bengal),  they  are  as  a  whole  unmistakably 
Dravidians.  Here  too  we  find  a  phenomenon  which  we  have 
found  elsewhere  in  India,  that  the  nose  becomes  broader,  the 
stature  less,  and  the  colour  of  the  skin  blacker,  in  proportion  to 
the  lowness  of  the  caste. 

Besides  these  four  types  one  is  surprised  to  find  along  the 
west  coast  of  India  from  Gujarat  down  to  Coorg  a  fifth  anthropo- 
logical type  with  broad  skulls,  having  an  index,  even  among 
the  highest  castes,  the  Brahmans,  the  Coorgs,  and  the  Maratha 
Kunbis,  of  79.7,  rising  to  92  (compared  with  71.7  among  the 
Badagas,  73.6  among  the  Pariahs,  73.4  among  the  Cherumer 
Malayalams  of  the  Dravidian  type).  While  the  strikingly  broad 
type  of  skull  might  seem  to  connect  the  inhabitants  of  the  west 
coast,  and  especially  of  the  Maratha  country,  with  the  Turko- 
Iranians  of  Baluchistan,  the  former  are  distinctly  smaller,  and 
possess  much  shorter  and  more  markedly  depressed  noses. 
However  great,  especially  among  the  lower  castes,  the  diffusion 
of  Dravidian  blood  may  be,  we  have  here  a  type  obviously 
different  both  from  the  Indo-Aryan  type  of  North  India  and 
the  Dravidian  type  of  the  South,  and  history  is  unable  to  give 
any  explanation  of  the  phenomenon.  Perhaps  the  most 
illuminating  hypothesis  is  that  we  have  here  the  results  of  a 
comparatively  powerful  Scythian  immigration,  and  a  consequent 
intermixture  of  blood.  While  the  former  tendency  was  to  look 
for  traces  of  the  Scythian  influence,  which  is  known  to  have 
been  dominant  in  the  north  and  north-west  of  India  in  the  first 
four  centuries  of  our  era,  especially  among  the  Jats  and  the 
Rajputs  of  the  Punjab,  and  in  the  parts  of  India  from  which 
Buddhism  sprang,  the  modern  method  of  classification  regards 
the  broad  skulls  of  Western  India,  and  especially  the  Marathas, 
as  a  Scytho-Dravidian  type. 

Recent  anthropological  investigations  alter  the  traditional 
view  of  the  ethnology  of  India  in  most  essential  points.  The 
view  which  is  more  and  more  finding  acceptance  is  that  a 
comparatively  pure  Indo-Aryan  population  is  to  be  found  only 
in  the  Punjab  and  the  regions  adjoining  it  on  the  north  and 
south.  The  basal  element  of  the  population  in  the  whole  of  the 
rest  of  India  is  Dravidian,  although  there  is  an  infusion  of  Indo- 
Aryan  blood  which  decreases  as  we  pass  from  north  to  south, 
and  is  greater  in  the  higher  classes  than  in  the  lower.  Besides 
this  there  is  in  the  east,  in  Bengal,  an  infusion  of  Mongolian 
blood  which  increases  the  farther  east  we  go ;  and  along  the 
west  coast,  especially  in  the  Maratha  country  and  Coorg,  an 
equally  strong  infusion  of  Scythian  (Mongoloid)  blood.  At  the 
same  time  the  superiority  of  the   Indo-Aryan  element  as  the 


INTRODUCTION  15 

possessor  of  a  higher  civilisation  was  so  great  that  it  entirely- 
absorbed  the  Scythian  languages  in  the  west,  drove  back  the 
Mongolian  languages  of  Eastern  Bengal  into  the  forests,  super- 
seded the  more  northerly  of  the  original  Dravidian  languages, 
and  deprived  those  of  the  centre  and  south  of  large  spheres  of 
influence.  The  result  is  that  the  philological  history  and  the 
present  linguistic  situation  of  India  are  a  very  untrustworthy 
and  frequently  misleading  guide  to  the  ethnological  past.  Far 
more  doubtful  still,  generally  speaking,  are  the  claims  of  the 
Brahmans,  the  Rajputs,  and  the  remaining  "twice  born"  castes 
(Dwija)  who  wear  the  sacred  cord  (Janeo),  to  a  more  or  less  pure 
"  Aryan  "  origin.  There  was  formerly  a  tendency  to  accept  the 
view  that  at  least  amongst  those  there  were  to  be  found  tolerably 
pure  descendants  of  the  Aryans,  whom  ardent  imagination  had 
done  so  much  to  glorify.  At  the  present  time  the  tendency  is 
rather  to  regard  these  aristocratic  classes  as  belonging  for  the 
most  part  to  the  rest  of  the  population,  and  to  relegate  their 
"  Aryan  "  traditions  and  genealogies  in  a  greater  or  less  degree 
to  the  region  of  mythology. 

It  is  necessary  to  bear  in  mind  this  ethnological  inter- 
mixture when  we  seek  to  understand  the  racial  character  of  the 
remaining  quarter  of  the  population  of  India,  the  sixty-two 
millions  of  Muhammadans.  From  about  the  year  1000  A.D., 
for  a  period  of  five  centuries,  streams  of  Muhammadan  in- 
vaders swept  unintermittently  into  India  from  the  north-west, 
including  successive  confused  swarms  of  such  different  peoples 
as  the  Iranian  Afghans  (Pathans)  and  Persians,  the  Turanian 
Turks  and  the  Mongolian  Moghuls.  Following  upon  this 
Muhammadan  invasion,  and  accompanying  it,  came  upwards 
of  five  hundred  years  of  Muhammadan  rule,  the  most  brilliant 
and  ruthless  alien  rule  ever  exercised  in  India.  It  is  therefore 
not  to  be  wondered  at  that  in  almost  all  the  large  territories  of 
India  more  or  less  powerful  fragments  of  a  Muhammadan 
population  are  to  be  found,  nor  that  these  should  have  had 
a  most  diverse  origin.  In  Kashmir,  with  a  population  of 
2,150,000,  the  Muhammadans  form  74  per  cent,  of  the  popula- 
tion ;  in  the  Punjab  (14,000,000),  53  per  cent,  thus  more  than 
one-half  the  entire  population  ;  in  the  two  provinces  of  Bengal  and 
Eastern  Bengal  (26,800,000),  30  per  cent.;  in  Bombay  (4,500,000), 
18  per  cent.;  in  the  United  Provinces  (7,000,000),  14  percent, 
of  the  whole  population.  Amongst  the  Muhammadan  peoples, 
the  invaders,  the  Afghans,  Persians,  Turks,  Mongols,  etc.,  and 
their  descendants,  universally  claim  the  first  place  as  the  repre- 
sentatives of  the  ruling  peoples  (just  as  the  Aryans,  amongst  the 
Hindus).  Their  families  are  the  Ashraf,  or  the  elite,  as  opposed 
to  the  AJlaf,  or  the  common  people.     In  a  number  of  provinces, 


1 6  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

beneath  the  latter  are  the  Arzal,  the  "lowest  of  all."  It  is 
natural  that  in  such  a  social  scale  as  many  families  as  possible 
should  want  to  belong  to  the  Ashraf.  In  Bengal  and  Orissa 
(excluding  Bihar  and  the  adjoining  Mongoloid  districts)  out  of 
twenty-one  million  Muhammadans  twenty  million  regard  them- 
selves as  Ashraf.  Anthropological  investigations,  however,  show 
that  in  this  instance  also  the  claim  to  foreign  descent  is  in  the 
vast  majority  of  cases  without  foundation.  Only  in  the  most 
aristocratic  families  can  a  strong  intermixture  of  a  non-Indian 
people  be  recognised.  The  mass  of  the  population  is  dis- 
tinguishable in  no  respect  from  its  Hindu  neighbours.  The 
millions  of  Muhammadans  in  India  owe  their  existence  in  a 
preponderating  degree  to  the  conversion  to  the  faith  of  Hindu 
families  and  races.  Especially  is  this  the  case  in  Kashmir,  the 
Punjab,  the  United  Provinces,  and  Bengal,  where  the  greatest 
number  of  Muhammadans  are  to  be  found.  Whether  these 
conversions  were  chiefly  the  result  of  compulsion  such  as  took 
place  under  Aurungzebe  and  Tipu  Sahib,  or  occurred  voluntarily 
through  the  adhesion  of  out-caste  races  which  gained  a  social 
advantage  through  admission  into  the  comparatively  respected 
Muhammadan  society,  is  of  no  importance  in  this  connection. 
The  significant  matter  is  that  the  Muhammadans  of  India  are 
not  a  people  or  a  nation  in  the  European  sense.  The  only 
unity  which  they  possess  is  that  which  is  given  to  them  by  a 
common  faith  and  a  common  language. 

This  latter,  known  as  Hindustani  or  Urdu,  is  spoken,  or  at 
least  understood,  by  the  Muhammadans  of  every  part  of  India. 
Through  them  it  has  become  the  lingua  frajica  of  India.  In 
spite  of  its  wide  diffusion,  it  is  not  a  language  in  the  linguistic 
sense,  but  only  a  dialect  of  Hindi.  At  the  same  time  it  is  a 
dialect  of  a  decidedly  peculiar  character.  When  the  Moghuls 
made  Delhi  their  magnificent  capital  and  the  Doab  of  the 
Upper  Ganges  (the  country  between  the  Ganges  and  the 
Jumna)  the  central  territory  of  their  empire,  they  adopted  the 
then  prevalent  dialect  of  W^estern  Hindi  as  the  court  and 
imperial  language.  Since  the  members  of  the  reigning  dynasty 
had  for  the  most  part  received  a  Persian  education,  and  in  their 
family  circle  spoke  a  Persian  language  interspersed  with  many 
Arabic  fragments,  it  soon  came  to  be  regarded  as  a  mark  of 
distinction  to  overload  this  Hindi  dialect  with  Persian  words, 
just  as  in  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries  the  German 
language  was  interlarded  with  French  words.  This  Hindi 
language  adorned  with  Persian  and  Arabic  words  is  known  as 
Hindustani  or  Urdu,  The  intermixture  of  the  languages  varies 
in  degree.  There  are  some  writings  in  this  pliable  tongue  in 
which  almost  all  the  words  are  of  Persian  or  Arabic  origin,  and 


INTRODUCTION  17 

only  the  grammar  and  syntax  have  remained  Hindi.  There 
are  other  writings  in  which  a  purist  tendency  has  rejected 
almost  every  Arabic  and  Persian  word,  while  the  syntax  and 
order  of  words  are  Persian.  The  linguistic  sense  of  the  popula- 
tion is  so  strong  that  it  recognises  more  easily  writings  of  the 
first  than  of  the  other  kind.  A  strongly  marked  Hindi 
grammar  and  syntax  with  a  superfluity  of  Persian  and  Arabic 
words  form  the  distinguishing  marks  of  this  unique  dialect. 


3.  Religion  and  Caste  ^ 

What  were  the  religious  conceptions  which  the  Aryan 
invaders  found  existing  among  the  Dravidian  inhabitants  of 
India?  The  importance  of  this  question  will  be  better  under- 
stood when  we  remember  that  in  the  north  as  well  as  in  the 
south  of  India  the  vast  majority  of  the  population  is  of 
Dravidian  and  not  of  Aryan  origin.  We  have  seen  how  as 
regards  the  languages  of  North  India  the  influence  of  the 
invading  Aryan  culture  made  itself  so  powerfully  felt  that  the 
Dravidian  languages  were  simply  swept  out  of  existence.  It  is 
only  in  a  few  isolated  instances  that  Dravidian  words  have  been 
able  to  maintain  themselves  in  the  modern  languages  of  North 
India.  We  are  absolutely  without  knowledge  regarding  the 
languages  that  were  spoken  in  the  north  of  India  in  the 
pre-Aryan  period.  The  investigator  of  religions  cannot  help 
being  captivated  by  the  problem  whether  in  the  religious  sphere 
the  displacement  of  the  old  Dravidians  by  the  religious  con- 
ceptions of  the  Aryans  was  equally  complete.  The  views  of 
scholars  on  the  subject  are  widely  divergent.  It  is  certain  that 
Dravidian  religious  conceptions  and  practices  are  still  to  be 
found  among  the  Dravidian  peoples  of  South  India,  especially 
among  the  lower  classes  of  the  people,  and  among  the  Munda- 
Dravidian  forest  and  hill  tribes  west  of  the  Vindhya  and 
Satpura  plateaux.  These  seem  to  possess  two  characteristic 
features.  The  first  is  a  worship  of  spirits  and  demons  which 
consists  principally  in  the  propitiating  of  malicious  demi-gods 
and  an  effort  to  avert  baneful  diseases,  etc.  This  "  animistic  " 
tendency,  although  among  the  Dravidians  it  has  little  to  do 
with  the  worship  of  ancestors,  finds  parallels  in  the  popular 
religions  of  China  and  Japan.  It  is  something  entirely  different 
from   the   soaring   pantheism    of  the   Aryans.     It    reaches   its 

^  The  general  outline  of  the  religious  development  of  India  has  been  given  by 
the  author  elsewhere  {Nordindische  Missionsfahrten,  pp.  257-294).  There  are  also 
many  accounts  by  others  in  existence,  and  it  is  therefore  unnecessary  to  add  yet 
another  to  their  number.  We  wish  here  to  make  only  a  few  remarks  supplementary 
to  the  outline  alluded  to  above. 


1 8  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

lowest  depths  in  the  devil-dances  of  Malabar,  Tinnevelly,  and 
Ceylon  —  a  natural  result,  since  in  these  districts  the  upper 
classes  are  under  the  influence  of  Aryan  deities  and  concep- 
tions, while  the  lower  orders  are  left  to  the  mercy  of  rank  and 
wanton  superstition.  But  even  where  religion  has  not  become 
so  degraded  and  brutal,  for  example  among  the  Munda,  Santals, 
and  Oraons,  it  still  possesses  a  gloomy  character,  and  has 
nothing  elevating  and  comforting  to  offer.  The  other  char- 
acteristic feature  which  we  find  among  many  Dravidians  and 
Munda,  who  have  still  preserved  their  distinguishing  peculiarities, 
and  which  we  must  therefore  regard  as  a  heritage  of  the  old 
Dravidian  religion,  is  totemism.  Each  separate  people  is 
divided  into  a  larger  or  smaller  number  of  clans  or  family 
groups  which  regard  some  object  as  their  totem  or  clan 
emblem  and  treat  it  as  sacred — for  example,  the  tiger,  the 
snake,  the  weasel,  the  sparrow,  the  tortoise,  the  mushroom, 
the  betel-nut  palm,  rice,  a  certain  shape  of  basket,  etc.  Of 
such  groups  no  less  than  323  have  been  counted  among 
the  Munda,  46  among  the  Hos,  73  among  the  Oraons, 
91  among  the  Santals.  Marriage  must  always  take  place 
outside  the  members  of  the  totem  clan.  It  is  sometimes 
possible  to  trace  this  system  of  blood-relationship  even 
amongst  sections  of  the  population  which  have  already  be- 
come submerged  in  the  turbid  mire  of  the  lower  Hindu  castes, 
as  in  Orissa  among  the  Kumhars,  who  are  comparatively  high 
in  the  gradation  of  castes,  and  in  Bengal  among  the  Mahilis 
and  Kurmis,  who  are  an  offshoot  from  the  Santals.  Whether 
the  Siva  and  snake-worship,  the  veneration  of  the  male  and 
female  sexual  organs  (Lingam  and  Yonin),  the  offering  of 
petitions  to  sacred  trees  and  stones,  are  an  old  Dravidian 
heritage  which  has  spread  widely  and  become  rampant  in  the 
lower  grades  of  Hinduism,  is  a  question  which  can  hardly  be 
answered  with  certainty.  Of  any  religious  development  among 
the  Dravidians  we  know  nothing. 

The  most  peculiar  religious  and  social  product  of  India  is 
Caste.  Unfortunately  we  know  very  little  that  is  trustworthy 
regarding  its  origin,  and  clearly  from  the  time  of  Manu  Indian 
society  has  been  divided  into  four  great  groups — the  Brahman, 
the  Kshatriya,  the  Vaishya,  and  the  Sudra.  Outside  of  and 
below  these  four  classes  are  the  great  multitudes  of  the  lower 
classes,  the  "  out-castes,"  whom  it  has  become  the  custom  in 
recent  times  to  call  the  "  Panchama,"  or  fifth  rank.  Each  of 
these  five  classes  is  again  split  up  into  numerous  subdivisions 
which  are  distinguished  from  one  another  with  the  utmost 
strictness  and  hermetically  sealed.  The  Census  of  1901 
reckons  2378  principal  castes;   all  lower  castes  included,  there 


INTRODUCTION  19 

must  be  at  least  100,000.  The  great  Scottish  missionary,  Dr. 
John  Wilson,  was  engaged  in  the  latter  years  of  his  life  in  writing 
a  monumental  work  on  the  castes  of  India.  He  got  as  far  in  the 
second  volume  as  page  678,  and  he  had  not  yet  completed 
the  first  great  division,  the  Brahmans.  Among  these  latter 
alone  1886  castes  have  been  counted.  Thus  the  small  state  of 
Cochin  alone  can  show  420  castes. 

The  outstanding  features  of  the  caste  system  are  as  follows  : 
firstly,  those  belonging  to  it  may  marry  only  within  the  limits 
of  their  own  caste ;  secondly,  they  eat  only  such  food  as  has 
been  prepared  by  a  member  of  the  same  caste  or — in  accord- 
ance with  carefully  prescribed  rules — of  a  recognised  higher  caste  ; 
thirdly,  they  believe  themselves  to  be  polluted  through  contact 
with,  and  sometimes  even  through  the  approach  of,  members  of 
a  lower  caste,  and  restore  their  Levitical  purity  by  means  of 
elaborate  ablutions  and  other  ceremonies ;  fourthly,  they  are 
bound  by  heredity  to  one  occupation  and  one  form  of  religion, 
and  are  expelled  from  the  caste  if  they  change  either  the  one  or 
the  other.  Nowhere  else  in  the  world,  not  even  where  different 
races  have  come  into  conflict  with  one  another,  has  there  been 
developed  so  extraordinary  a  social  system,  controlling  so  com- 
pletely and  ruthlessly  the  whole  private  and  public  life.  A 
comparison  has  been  made  with  the  conditions  prevailing  in 
ancient  Egypt  or  with  the  divisions  into  castes  introduced  into 
the  Eastern  Empire  by  the  Emperor  Theodosius,  Attention 
has  been  directed  to  the  race  feeling  between  the  whites  and 
the  blacks  in  America.  Analogies  have  been  advanced  from 
history  and  from  the  conditions  of  the  ancient  Persians,  Greeks, 
and  Romans.  But  all  these  resemblances  only  make  the 
characteristic  differences  of  the  Indian  situation  stand  out  in 
greater  relief.  It  is  very  remarkable  that  in  the  Punjab,  which, 
as  we  have  seen,  is  comparatively  the  most  purely  Aryan 
district  of  India,  caste  is  least  rigid  and  shows  a  surprising 
flexibility.  On  the  other  hand,  caste  is  most  consistently 
observed,  and  is  most  inflexible  amongst  the  Tamils,  where  a 
racial  conflict  between  Aryans  and  Dravidians  scarcely  ever 
occurred,  and  where  the  Aryans  never  appeared  as  conquerors. 
In  spite  of  all  scientific  investigation,  the  real  inward  motive 
which  produced  the  caste  divisions  has  never  been  explained. 
Sir  Denzil  Ibbetson,  to  whom  we  are  indebted  for  one  of  the 
best  explanations  of  the  caste  system,^  sums  up  the  "steps  in 
the  process  by  which  the  castes  in  the  Punjab  were  developed  " 
as  follows :  firstly,  the  division  into  clans,  which  is  peculiar  to 
all    early   forms   of    society;     secondly,   the   guilds   based    on 

1  Report  of  the  Census  of  the  Punjab,  i88r,  pp.  172-341,  reproduced  in  part  in  the 
Ethnographic  Appendices  to  vol.  i.  of  the  Census  Report  for  /goi,  p.  234  ff. 


20  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

hereditary  occupation,  which  belong  to  the  middle  period  of 
all  society ;  thirdly,  the  exaltation  of  the  priestly  office  to  an 
extent  unknown  in  other  countries;  fourthly,  the  exaltation  of 
the  Levitical  (Brahmanical)  blood  by  laying  emphatic  stress 
upon  the  necessarily  hereditary  nature  of  this  service  ;  fifthly, 
the  maintenance  and  support  of  this  principle  by  invented 
theories  regarding  Hindu  faith  or  cosmogony,  and  equally 
arbitrary  regulations  regarding  marriage,  clean  and  unclean 
vocations  and  foods,  and  through  precepts  relating  to  the 
conditions  and  the  degree  of  social  intercourse  permitted 
between  different  castes.  Another  scholar,  Nesfield,  states 
emphatically  in  his  book,  A  Brief  View  of  the  Caste  System 
of  the  North-  Western  Provinces  and  Oudh,  that  "  for  at  least 
three  thousand  years  there  has  existed  no  real  difference  be- 
tween the  Aryan  and  the  original  inhabitants,"  and  that  "  if  a 
stranger  were  to  go  for  the  first  time  through  the  classrooms  in 
the  Sanskrit  College  in  Benares  he  would  never  dream  for  a 
moment  that  there  was  a  racial  difference  between  these  aristo- 
cratic Brahman  students  and  the  street-sweepers  outside,"  His 
conviction  is  that  "  the  trade  or  occupation,  and  that  alone,  is 
the  basis  upon  which  the  caste  system  of  India  has  been  built 
up."  Senart,  a  distinguished  French  scholar  who  has  written 
a  book  entitled  Les  Castes  dans  I'htde,  seeks  to  explain  the 
origin  of  the  Indian  caste  system  from  the  fundamental  con- 
ceptions regarding  society  common  to  the  Indo- Germanic 
peoples,  and  adduces  a  series  of  surprising  parallels  ;  but  he 
leaves  the  real  problem  unsolved,  why  it  should  have  been  that 
in  India  alone  these  conceptions  led  to  the  development  of  the 
caste.  Sir  H.  H.  Risley,the  able  and  learned  Director  of  the  Census 
of  1 90 1,  falls  back  upon  the  fact  that  the  primary  force  in  this 
extraordinary  development  was  the  racial  conflict  between  the 
whites  and  the  blacks.  But  how  it  produced  this  result,  and 
how  it  is  possible  for  this  starting-point  to  explain  even  the 
principal  castes  or  the  leading  features  of  the  system,  he  can 
give  no  account  of.^  According  to  the  Census  of  1901,  the 
Brahman  castes  numbered  14,893,258  souls.  How  large  is 
the  membership  of  all  the  "  twice  born  "  castes  cannot  be  stated, 
because  in  different  parts  of  India  and  at  different  periods 
different  castes  have  appropriated  the  Brahmanical  cord. 

Two  examples  will  show  the  strength  and  vitality  of  the 
caste  spirit  even  at  the  present  day.  As  far  as  its  own  principles 
are  concerned,  the  attitude  of  Muhammadanism  towards  the 
caste  system  is  one  of  rejection,  or  rather  of  active  hostility. 
The  equality  of  all  men  before  Allah  is  one  of  its  leading 
doctrines.     In  India,  however,  Muhammadanism  has  so  little 

'  General  Census  Report,   1 901,  §  S62  ff.  p.  549  ii. 


INTRODUCTION  21 

been  able  to  escape  the  prevailing  current  that  at  the  present 
day  we  see  Muhammadan  society  divided  into  castes  to  an 
extent  almost  as  great  as  that  of  the  Hindus  themselves. 
More  than  twenty-eight  millions  claim  to  be  Shekhs,  over  one 
million  to  be  Saiads,  nearly  three  millions  to  be  Jolahas,  and  so 
on.  Their  marriage  relations  are  almost  as  exclusive  as  those 
of  the  Hindus.  On  the  other  hand,  the  caste  divisions  and 
customs  of  the  Muhammadans  are  by  no  means  the  same 
everywhere,  and  the  transgression  of  them  is  not  regarded  as 
impossible,  as  is  shown  by  a  proverb  current  in  North  India  : 
"  Last  year  I  was  a  Johala ;  to-day  I  am  Shekh ;  next  year,  if 
the  prices  rise,  I  shall  become  a  Saiad,"  Since  the  extermina- 
tion of  Buddhism  in  India  it  has  been  a  standing  feature  of  the 
teaching  of  all  great  reformers  that,  in  opposition  to  the 
exclusiveness  of  caste,  they  seek  and  proclaim  means  by  which 
all  men  may  become  partakers  of  salvation.  In  the  circle  of 
their  followers,  in  their  sects,  they  set  aside  the  limits  of  caste, 
or  at  least  mitigate  their  severity.  So  long  as  the  religious 
impulses  which  emanated  from  within  them  have  remained 
fresh,  and  the  fire  of  enthusiasm  has  continued  to  glow,  this 
freedom  from  caste  has  been  the  attractive  force  which  has  won 
disciples.  But  when  the  force  of  the  first  love  has  become 
extinct  the  tendency  to  fall  back  under  the  spell  of  the  old 
caste  restrictions  has  universally  proved  itself  to  be  irresistible. 
Basappa  of  Kalyan,  in  Western  India,  founded  the  sect  of  the 
Lingaites  in  the  twelfth  century  on  the  basis  of  the  gospel  that 
all  men  were  equal  who  had  received  the  eightfold  sacrament 
which  he  had  appointed.  But  at  the  last  Census  (1901)  the 
Lingaites,  in  a  great  petition  to  the  Government,  characterised 
as  "  a  most  offensive  and  mischievous  command  "  the  order  for 
them  all  to  be  counted  as  belonging  to  one  and  the  same  caste ; 
"  let  them  be  numbered  and  separately  classified  as  Brahmans, 
Kshatriyas,  Vaishyas,  and  Sudras."  This  example  is  character- 
istic to  a  degree  of  Indian  sentiment  and  thought. 

Modern  Hinduism  is  a  Proteus-like  mixture  of  the  most 
diverse  elements.  And  the  only  method  by  which  any  idea  of 
it  can  be  given  is  to  lay  the  finger  on  a  few  of  its  exceptionally 
prominent  features.  In  many  districts  it  has  succeeded  in 
establishing  itself  to  only  a  small  extent,  and  is  little  more  than 
a  varnish  superadded  to  the  religious  conceptions  and  practices 
of  the  ancient  inhabitants.  This  state  of  affairs  is  especially 
striking  in  Eastern  Bengal,  in  almost  the  whole  of  the  Madras 
Presidency,  especially  in  Malabar,  South  Kanara,  Tinnevelly,  and 
also  upon  the  island  of  Ceylon.  In  all  these  places  the  original 
demon-worship  is  clearly  apparent,  and  the  process  of  conversion 
to  Hinduism  is  only  in  its  early  stages. 


22 


HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 


The  whole  world  of  Hinduism  is  rife  with  sects.  The 
national  spirit  of  India  appears  to  be  inexhaustible  in  its 
productivity.  Yet  it  is  occupied  partly  with  worthless  religious 
vagaries  and  monstrosities.  Sometimes,  however,  profoundly 
spiritual  souls  have  clearly  grasped  individual  truths,  and 
have  carried  them  out  to  their  extreme  consequences  with 
the  dogged  pertinacity  which  is  characteristic  of  the  Indian 
spirit.  In  other  instances  great  religions  which  have  poured 
into  India  from  every  quarter  have  stimulated  Indian  thinkers 
to  adopt  individual  principles  and  to  work  them  up  along  with 
Indian  elements  into  a  new  system.  Buddhism  was  originally 
an  Indian  sect  which,  especially  since  its  transplantation  to 
Central  Asia,  has  attained  the  importance  of  a  universal 
religion.  Other  sects  have  played  a  large  part  at  any  rate  in 
the  history  of  India,  as  the  Jains,  who  even  at  the  present  day 
possess  a  certain  importance  in  Western  India,  and  the  Sikhs  in 
the  Punjab.  A  large  group  of  sects  have  as  their  sole  raison 
d'etre  the  fact  that  their  followers  support  with  passionate 
partiality  the  rival  claims  either  of  the  ancient  Vedic  gods  or  of 
the  puranic  eccentricities  of  the  Indian  pantheon,  such  as 
Durga,  Krishna,  Rama,  etc.  Such  are  the  Vaishnavites,  or 
worshippers  of  Vishnu,  and  the  Saivites,  or  worshippers  of  Siva, 
the  Saktas,  the  worshippers  of  the  generative  forces,  the  Sauras, 
the  Smartas,  and  so  on.  The  struggle  between  the  worshippers 
of  Vishnu  and  of  Siva,  the  Vaishnavites  and  Saivites,  has,  at  any 
rate  for  South  India,  and  especially  the  Tamil  country,  a  real 
importance  from  the  standpoint  of  comparative  religion.  The 
lowest  stage  of  degradation  is  reached  as  a  rule  by  the  Saktas, 
whose  worship  of  the  generative  power  resolves  itself  into 
nightly  orgies  and  the  unrestrained  indulgence  of  licentiousness. 
Another  large  group  of  sects  maintains  its  existence  by  a 
protest  against  a  particular  excrescence  of  Hinduism,  such  as 
polytheism,  idol-worship,  etc. ;  for  example,  the  Kabirpanthis, 
the  disciples  of  the  eccentric  Kabir;  the  Satnamis,  the  disciples 
of  Ghasi-Das,  etc.  As  regards  the  United  Provinces  more 
particularly,  we  possess  tolerably  exact  statistics  concerning 
the  number  of  followers  belonging  to  the  more  important  sects 
in  these  Provinces.     The  figures  for  1901  are  as  follows: — 


Panchpiria  . 

.    1,750,000 

Ramanandi,. 

•     i,333>ooo 

Lingaite 

.    1,000,000 

Eishnoi 

289,000 

Nanakshahi 

250,000 

Kabirpanthi 

216,000 

Pasupat 

88,000 

Vallabhachaiia     . 

87,000 

Satnami 

74,000 

Radhavallabhi      . 

48,000 

Gorakpanlhi 

32,000 

Nimbarak    . 

19,000 

Radhaswami 

15,000 

Sivanaiaini . 

6,600 

In    the 

course    of    our    consideration    of 

th 

le 

history   of 

INTRODUCTION  23 

individual  missions  in  India  we  shall  meet  with  several  sects 
which  will  require  more  detailed  consideration.  But  we  should 
be  launching  out  on  a  shoreless  ocean  if  we  were  to  attempt  in 
this  place  to  give  the  history  and  the  doctrines  of  even  the  more 
important  sects.  They  resemble,  taken  as  a  whole,  the  wild 
Indian  jungle  which  grows  and  luxuriates  without  bourn  or 
bound,  but  which  also  withers  away  and  dies.  This  much, 
however,  one  may  venture  to  say,  that  there  is  no  folly  too 
great,  no  practice  too  horrible,  not  to  find  in  India  a  company 
of  believers,  provided  that  some  man  be  forthcoming  to  maintain 
it  in  a  simulated  tone  of  profound  inward  conviction. 

In  orthodox  Hinduism  two  great  leading  tendencies  are  to 
be  found  side  by  side  with  one  another  and  frequently  inter- 
mingling, the  one  a  coarse  materialistic  idolatry,  and  the  other 
a  pantheism  which  spiritualises  everything.  The  strength  and 
extent  of  the  vulgar  idolatry  is  known  to  every  one  who  has 
travelled  through  the  towns  and  villages  of  India,  especially  if 
he  has  spent  some  time  at  the  great  centres  of  Hinduism, 
Benares,  Trichinopoly,  Chidambaram,  Rameswaram,  and  other 
places.  Here  idolatry  literally  swarms,  and  often  in  the  most 
horrible  forms ;  especially  widespread  is  the  worship  of  Siva  in 
the  form  of  the  Lingam  (Phallus)  or  of  Durga  as  "  Yonin."  A 
lively  trade  is  carried  on  in  idols  of  all  kinds.  Hand  in  hand 
with  this  goes  the  worship  which  is  paid  to  sacred  rivers,  and 
before  all  others  to  the  Ganges,  the  holy  mother  Ganga. 
Pilgrimages  to  the  holy  places  along  the  banks  of  the  Ganges 
from  Hard  war,  where  its  waters  enter  the  plains,  to  Sagar,  the 
legend-begirt  island  away  down  in  the  Sundarbans,  are  amongst 
the  religious  usages  most  commonly  practised.  Sacred  places, 
pools,  idols,  trees,  stones,  and  especially  sacred  animals,  the  cow, 
the  monkey,  the  snake,  etc.,  and  plants  {e.g.  the  tulsi  plant)  play 
so  large  a  role  that  it  is  often  difficult  to  know  where  the  lower 
Fetishism  and  Shamanism  ceases  and  Hinduism  begins.  And 
yet  the  whole  of  this  active  worship  which  seems  to  us  so 
profane  and  distasteful  is  carried  on  by  millions  of  worshippers, 
pilgrims  and  frequenters  of  religious  festivals  (melas),  with  all 
the  marks  of  religious  feeling  and  with  a  zeal  that  makes 
these  sacred  shrines  and  popular  religious  festivals  in  their 
turn  a  hotbed  for  the  growth  of  a  bigoted  and  fanatical 
Hinduism. 

At  the  same  time  there  is  to  be  found  among  all  classes  of 
society  from  the  highest  down  to  the  very  Pariahs  a  current  of 
spiritualistic  mysticism,  a  tendency  to  pantheistic  speculation, 
which  might  be  expected  to  deprive  the  coarser  idol-worship  of 
any  solid  foundation.  From  early  times  six  schools  of  philosophy, 
or  Darsanas,  have  been  recognised  as  orthodox  systems.     The 


24  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

Vedanta  system  especially  has  through  Sankaracharya  and 
other  acute  dialecticians  attained  a  practically  classic  position. 
Its  relentlessly  consistent  monistic  system,  according  to  which 
only  the  absolute  possesses  true  reality,  while  the  whole  world 
of  sense  impression  is  only  deceptive  appearance  and  an 
unending  absorption  in  the  absolute  the  sole  aim  and  goal  of 
humanity,  is  by  no  means  restricted  in  its  magical  influence  to 
a  small  circle  of  philosophically  educated  thinkers.  Its  doctrines 
have  become  part  and  parcel  of  Hindu  life.^ 

The  three  principally  recognised  deities  of  India  are  Brahma, 
Vishnu,  and  Siva,  which  may  be  described  briefly  as  the  creative, 
the  sustaining,  and  destructive  powers.  Brahma,  however,  has 
probably  never  been  an  object  of  popular  worship,  and  at  the 
present  day  is  little  more  than  a  philosophic  abstraction,  a  god 
of  the  Brahmans.  In  Rajputana,  on  the  banks  of  the  Pushkara 
Lake,  there  is  pointed  out  as  an  object  of  curiosity  the  sole 
temple  which  has  been  built  in  India  in  honour  of  Brahma. 
The  popular  deities  are  Vishnu  and  Siva — Vishnu  generally 
amongst  the  middle  classes  of  the  population,  amongst  a  large 
number  of  reforming  sects  and  in  the  Orissa  region ;  Siva 
generally  among  the  speculative  Brahmans  on  the  one  hand,  and 
on  the  other  amongst  the  large  masses  of  the  more  sunken 
population  in  South  India,  amongst  whom  he  is  worshipped  in 
the  popular  form  of  the  destroyer,  of  Lingam,  and  so  on. 
Neither  of  these  deities  could  survive  the  severe  competition  for 
popular  favour  were  it  not  that  each  receives  the  powerful 
support  of  its  own  subordinate  deities.  The  worship  of  Vishnu 
draws  its  strength  from  the  teaching  of  the  ten  incarnations 
(Avatar)  of  the  god,  of  which  nine  belong  to  the  past,  while  the 
tenth  has  yet  to  come.  By  far  the  most  popular  of  these  are 
Rama  and  Krishna.  As  Rama,  Vishnu  is  celebrated  in  the 
Ramayana  epic,  and  as  this  poem  is  a  sort  of  bible  amongst  the 
Hindus,  the  Rama  legend  has  a  simply  inexhaustible  vitality. 
The  popularity  of  Rama  is  exceeded  only  by  that  of  the 
Krishna  legends,  which  in  moral  and  poetical  contents  are 
incomparably  more  profound,  and  which  especially  in  recent 
times  have  found  an  enthusiastic  following.  The  youthful 
exploits  of  this  shepherd-god,  his  disgusting  amours  and  his 
varied  adventures,  are  the  favourite  narratives  of  both  old  and 
young.  That  this  favourite  god  should  prove  so  unworthy  a 
pattern  has  a  most  injurious  effect  upon  public  morals.  Apart 
from  certain  large  temples  and  famous  sacred  cities,  such 
as    Srirangam    near    Trichinopoly,   Tirupatur    and    Madhura, 

^  The  able  Wesleyan  missionary,  Rev.  Henry  Haigh  of  Mysore,  has  acutely 
described  the  average  Hindu  as  half  a  philosophical  hair-splitter  and  half  a  materialistic 
fetish-worshipper  {Wesleyan  Missionary  Notes,  1896,  p.  86  ei  sei^.). 


INTRODUCTION  25 

Puri  is  the  principal  scene  of  Vishnu  worship.  The  popularity 
of  Siva  is  increased  in  the  north  by  his  frightful  consort, 
Kali,  the  bloodthirsty  goddess  of  death  and  pestilence,  who 
must  be  daily  propitiated  by  blood  and  sacrifices,  and  in 
the  south,  in  addition  to  the  foregoing,  by  his  exceptionally 
popular  sons,  Ganesa,  the  elephant-headed,  big-bellied  god  of 
scholars  and  merchants,  and  Subrahmanya,  the  god  of  war.  It 
has  been  supposed  that  the  worship  of  Siva  and  his  associates 
is  either  entirely  of  Dravidian  origin  or  at  least  has  been 
largely  moulded  under  the  influence  of  the  Dravidian  spirit. 

To  some  extent  side  by  side  with  this  rivalry  of  the  two 
popular  deities  the  religious  spirit  of  India  exhibits  two  leading 
tendencies,  two  "  ways  of  salvation."  That  most  congenial 
to  the  Vishnu  worship  is  the  "  way  of  faith  " — Bhakti-Marga — 
a  believing  self-surrender  to  the  deity,  a  brooding  meditation 
accompanied  by  an  unwearying  thought-annihilating  repetition 
of  his  name.  At  the  same  time  there  are  not  wanting  evidences 
of  real  and  profound  religious  aspirations  which  partly  recall 
Christian  motives,  and  are  ascribed  by  many  scholars  to 
Christian  influences.  They  are  found  in  their  comparatively 
purest  form  in  the  teachings  of  Chaitanya  (1485  to  1527), 
whose  activity  is  one  of  the  most  pleasing  phenomena  in  the 
history  of  Indian  religions.  More  proper  to  the  Siva  worship 
is  the  "  way  of  works  " — Karma-Marga — which  seeks  to  obtain 
merit  by  mortification,  self-castigation,  and  the  infliction  of 
all  kinds  of  self-torture.  To  gaze  fixedly  at  the  blazing  sun, 
until  the  eyes  are  completely  burnt  away,  to  allow  oneself  to 
be  scorched  in  the  burning  rays  of  the  sun  between  blazing 
fires,  to  stretch  out  motionless  one  or  both  arms  in  the  air 
for  a  period  of  years  until  all  life  deserts  them,  to  measure 
hundreds  of  miles  of  lengthy  pilgrimages  with  one's  body  in 
the  dust,  and  many  other  similar  practices,  are  the  characteristic 
forms  in  which  Indian  piety  manifests  itself,  and  are  especially 
peculiar  to  Siva  worship.  Closely  connected  with  this  are  the 
ubiquitous  and  highly  esteemed  religious  beggars,  the  Yogi 
and  Gosain,  the  Sannyasi  and  Bairagi,  who  have  completely 
renounced  the  world  and  are  seeking  the  way  to  God  solely 
through  mortification.  These,  however,  are  a  supreme  example 
of  the  way  in  which  extremes  meet,  and  of  how,  especially  in 
a  country  where  unreality  and  falsehood  occupy  so  large  a 
place  as  in  India,  there  is  only  a  step  between  the  most 
frightful  self-torture  and  the  most  hollow  hypocrisy.  By  far 
the  majority  of  those  who  make  an  occupation  of  religion  at 
the  present  day  in  India,  and  who  wander  from  shrine  to  shrine 
miserably  clad,  besmeared  from  head  to  foot  with  ashes  and 
cow-dung,  frequently  with  crippled  limbs,  are  worthless  idlers, 


26  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

immoral  vagabonds  and  inveterate  hypocrites,  who  make  up 
for  the  privations  of  their  apparently  sacred  calling  by  licentious 
orgies  of  hemp-smoking  and  similar  indulgences. 

It  is  generally  possible  to  recognise  the  special  caste  of  a 
Hindu  at  the  first  glance  by  the  marks  which  every  religious 
person  paints  upon  his  forehead  each  day  with  white  or  red 
ashes  and  a  colour  of  prescribed  composition.  The  Vaishnavites 
have  two  vertical  lines  which  are  joined  at  the  bottom  by  a 
curve  ;  the  Saivites,  however,  horizontal  lines  which  often  extend 
over  the  whole  forehead,  and  are  even  repeated  on  the  breast 
and  upper  arm.  Divine  worship  in  the  Christian  sense  with 
an  assembled  congregation  is  unknown  to  Hinduism.  The 
temple  priests  treat  the  idols  committed  to  their  care  very 
much  as  children  do  their  dolls  among  ourselves.  They  move 
them  to  and  fro,  adorn  them  on  feast-days  with  gold  and 
jewels,  wash  them  in  sacred  water,  light  lamps  in  front  of 
them,  lay  food  before  them,  take  them  out  for  drives,  and  so 
on.  Several  idols,  such  as  the  Minachi  of  the  Madura  temple, 
and  the  black  idol  of  the  Srirangam  temple,  have  at  their 
disposal  incalculable  treasures  of  silk  and  purple  vestments, 
gold  and  silver,  jewels  and  diamonds.  The  worship  of  the 
faithful  consists  for  the  most  part  only  in  postures  of  the 
body  (known  as  Puja),  murmuring  of  uncomprehended  Sanskrit 
"  mantras,"  and  the  presentation  of  flowers,  grains  of  rice, 
small  coins,  etc.  Prayer  in  our  sense  of  the  word  is  rare, 
and  in  any  case  does  not  form  part  of  the  regular  religious 
usages. 


CHAPTER    I 
EARLY  MISSIONS 

I.  Before  the  Landing  of  the  Portuguese 

(a)  Earliest  Times 

The  history  of  Indian  missions  goes  back  to  the  earliest  period 
of  Church  history,  possibly  as  far  back  as  the  first  century  of 
the  Christian  era.  Unfortunately  the  data  for  the  centuries 
before  the  Reformation  are  so  disconnected  and  isolated,  and 
so  untrustworthy,  or  consist  so  much  of  mere  indirect  inferences, 
that  it  is  impossible  to  write  a  history  of  missions  during  this 
period.  We  shall  content  ourselves,  therefore,  with  tabulat- 
ing the  more  important  data,  and  adding  a  few  explanatory 
comments.  The  data  are  of  three  kinds.  Sometimes  they 
are  isolated  notes  in  ecclesiastical  writers  or  documents  ;  these 
as  a  rule  are  of  exceptional  value,  but  are  of  too  fragmentary 
a  nature  to  allow  of  any  connected  narration.  Then  there  are 
detailed  narratives,  it  may  be  patristic  apocrypha,  or  chronicles 
of  the  Syrian  Christians.  These  are  almost  universally  devoid 
of  any  historical  basis.  Finally,  there  are  the  traces  in  Indian 
literature  of  the  influence  of  Christian  ideas.  But  in  regard 
to  these  there  is  great  diversity  of  opinion  among  scholars 
regarding  the  extent  of  this  influence,  or  even  as  to  whether 
it  existed  at  all. 

The  apocryphal  Acts  of  Thomas  and  their  continuation. 
The  Llartyrdom  of  Thomas,  both  probably  dating  from  the 
second  half  of  the  third  century,  recount  the  missionary  labour 
of  the  Apostle  Thomas  in  India.  The  Indian  king  Gondophares, 
according  to  these  Acts,  sent  the  merchant  Abbanes  to 
Jerusalem  to  find  a  capable  architect  for  a  palace  which  was 
to  be  built.  In  the  slave  market  at  Jerusalem  Abbanes  met 
with  Jesus,  who  pointed  out  Thomas  as  a  capable  builder,  and 
sold  him  to  him  for  ^3  of  uncoined  silver.  Abbanes  and 
Thomas  thereafter  returned  to  the  court  of  Gondophares.  On 
his  arrival  Thomas  worked  all  kinds  of  miracles,  and  converted 


28  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

and  baptized  the  king  along  with  many  of  his  subjects.  After 
some  time  he  left  the  kingdom  of  Gondophares  and  travelled 
to  another  part  of  India,  where  a  king,  Misdeus,  reigned.  There 
he  met  with  a  martyr's  death.  His  bones  were  conveyed  to 
Edessa  (Urfah),  and  there  a  church  was  built  over  his  remains. 

This  story,  so  improbable  in  itself,  receives  unexpected 
support  through  numerous  discoveries  of  coins  in  the  mountain- 
ous districts  of  Eastern  Iran  and  the  adjoining  districts  of 
India.  These  show  not  only  that  in  the  centuries  about  the 
time  of  the  birth  of  Christ  the  Greek  language  and  culture  were 
widespread  in  these  regions,  but  also  that  King  Gondophares,  or 
Undopherres,  of  Arachosia,  was  a  genuine  historical  personage. 
It  may  therefore  be  inferred  with  certainty  from  the  apocryphal 
narrative  that  in  these  border  lands  of  North-West  India 
Christian  communities  were  already  in  existence  at  the  time  of 
the  composition  of  these  apocryphal  writings,  and  that  such 
communities  traced  their  origin  to  the  Apostle  Thomas.  Else- 
where in  the  traditions  of  the  early  Church  the  activity  of  the 
apostle  is  located  in  Parthia,  the  eastern  boundary  of  which 
may  have  extended  at  that  time  into  modern  India. 

"About  the  year  i8o,"  says  Eusebius  in  his  Church  History, 
"  there  were  still  many  evangelists  who  sought  to  imitate  the 
godly  zeal  of  the  apostles,  by  contributing  their  share  to  the 
extension  and  upbuilding  of  the  kingdom  of  God.  Among 
these  was  Pantaenus,  who  is  reputed  to  have  reached  the  Indians, 
amongst  whom  he  is  stated  to  have  found  the  Gospel  of  St. 
Matthew,  which,  prior  to  his  arrival,  was  in  the  possession  of 
many  who  had  known  Christ.  To  these  Bartholomew,  one  of 
the  apostles,  is  reported  to  have  preached,  and  to  have  left 
behind  him  the  Gospel  of  Matthew  in  Hebrew  characters,  which 
had  been  retained  up  to  the  time  in  question.  This  Pantaenus, 
after  many  praiseworthy  achievements,  was  at  last  placed  at 
the  head  of  the  school  at  Alexandria."  ^  The  importance  of 
this  much-discussed  statement  of  Eusebius  regarding  the 
missionary  labours  of  Pantaenus  in  India  loses  v/eight  through 
the  fact  that  the  name  India  was  applied  quite  indiscriminately, 
and  in  its  wider  sense  it  included  all  countries  east  and  south- 
east of  the  better  known  geographical  horizon.  Many  scholars 
are  therefore  inclined  to  restrict  the  activity  of  Pantaenus  to 
Southern  Arabia.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  certain  that  an 
exceptionally  active  trade  was  carried  on  at  that  period  between 
Egypt,  the  home  of  Pantaenus,  and  India.  Moreover,  in  a 
treasury  excavated  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Coimbatore,  135 
coins  were  found  belonging  to  the  reign  of  Augustus,  and  378  to 
that  of  Tiberius ;  and  in  a  find  of  coins  at  Calicut  in  the  year  1 850 
^  See  Appendix  B. 


EARLY  MISSIONS  29 

several  hundreds  were  discovered  all  dating  from  a  period  no 
later  than  the  reign  of  the  Emperor  Nero.  There  could  be 
no  doubt,  therefore,  that  in  the  time  of  Pantsenus  it  was  easy  to 
reach  India  from  Alexandria.  We  should  have  less  hesitation 
in  interpreting  the  statement  of  Eusebius  as  applying  to  India 
proper  if  we  knew  that  Jerome's  remark  possessed  any  inde- 
pendent authority :  "  On  account  of  the  fame  of  his  superior 
learning  Pantsenus  was  sent  to  India  by  Bishop  Demetrius  (of 
Alexandria)  to  preach  Christ  among  the  Brahmans  and  philo- 
sophers of  that  people,"  ^  The  difficulty  is  to  understand 
what  use  Indian  Christians  can  have  made  of  a  Hebrew  copy 
of  St.  Matthew's  Gospel,  and  how  Bartholomew  could  have 
preached  to  them  in  this  language.  This  difficulty  could  be 
explained  only  if  there  existed,  as  early  as  the  first  century, 
colonies  of  emigrant  Jews  on  the  Malabar  coast,  and  if  an  active 
Christian  propaganda  was  carried  on  among  them  at  that 
period.  Neither  of  these  suppositions  obtains  the  slightest 
support  from  other  sources.  Even  the  early  traditions  of  the 
present-day  Jews  in  Cochin  do  not  assign  their  immigration  to 
a  date  earlier  than  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  under  Titus. 
And  Jews  who  had  left  their  country  under  the  influence  of  an 
event  of  this  character  would  have  been  a  most  unfavourable 
object  for  missionary  effort. 

Among  the  318  bishops  who  took  part  in  the  Council  of 
Nicea  there  was  a  certain  "  John,  bishop  of  all  Persia  and 
Greater  India."  We  know  nothing  further  regarding  either 
himself  or  his  diocese.  About  the  year  50  A.D,  the  Emperor 
Constantine  sent  an  ambassador  to  the  Sabseans  or  Himyarites 
(Homeritae)  of  South  Arabia  "  to  convert  them  to  the  true 
faith.  He  was  anxious,  by  means  of  fine  presents  and  winning 
words,  to  establish  friendly  relations  with  the  princes  of  Saba 
and  to  obtain  permission  for  Roman  subjects  carrying  on  trade 
in  these  regions,  to  build  churches  for  themselves  ;  and  the 
same  right  for  the  natives  who  had  been  converted  to  Christi- 
anity." The  leader  of  this  embassy  was  Bishop  Theophilus, 
an  Indian,  a  native  of  the  island  of  Divus,  who  as  a  child  had 
been  sent  by  his  countrymen  to  the  Romans  as  a  hostage,  and 
had  received  a  Roman  education.  He  took  advantage  of  his 
journey  as  ambassador  to  revisit  his  island  home.  "  And 
thence  he  journeyed  to  other  parts  of  India,  and  did  much  to 
improve  the  Church  practices  there — i.e.,  in  external  customs ; 
for  example,  the  custom  of  the  congregation  to  remain  seated 
during  the  reading  of  the  Gospel  lessons  and  similar  points  in 
ritual.  But  with  respect  to  doctrine  he  found  nothing  that 
needed   correction,  and   had   only  to  confirm  what   had   been 

^  See  Appendix  C. 


30  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

believed  there  from  the  earliest  times,  namely,  that  the  Son  was 
of  a  different  substance  from  the  Father."  ^  Unfortunately 
scholars  hold  the  most  diverse  views  with  regard  to  Divus, 
the  island  home  of  Theophilus,  and  its  inhabitants,  the 
Diva^i ;  and  the  whole  account  is  consequently  left  without 
foundation.  We  do  not  know  either  in  what  region  or  in  what 
circumstances  the  reforming  activities  of  Theophilus  were 
carried  on. 

In  the  year  345  A.D.  there  landed  in  Malabar,  according  to 
the  traditions  of  Thomas  Christians  of  South  India,  under  the 
convoy  of  a  Jerusalem  merchant,  Thomas,  a  bishop  from 
Edessa,  accompanied  by  presbyters  and  deacons  and  by  a 
company  of  men  and  women,  youths  and  maidens  from 
Jerusalem,  Bagdad,  and  Nineveh,  who  had  attached  themselves 
to  him.  They  were  welcomed  with  great  rejoicings  by  the 
Christians  of  the  country,  and  endowed  with  important  privi- 
leges by  the  ruler  of  the  land,  so  that  their  arrival  was  the 
beginning  of  a  flourishing  epoch  in  the  history  of  the  Malabar 
Church.^  That  a  large  emigration  took  place  from  Syria 
and  Mesopotamia  to  Malabar  is  quite  possible.  This  is  the 
simplest  explanation  of  the  ecclesiastical  dependence  of  the 
Syrian  Church  upon  the  patriarchate  at  Antioch,  of  the  Syrian 
ecclesiastical  language  and  literature,  and  generally  speaking  of 
the  Syro-Nestorian  type  of  the  whole  ecclesiastical  life  of  the 
Syrian  Christians  during  the  Middle  Ages.  That  such  an 
emigration  may  have  taken  place  about  the  year  345  A.D.  is 
rendered  more  probable  by  the  fact  that  in  the  year  343  A.D. 
there  broke  out  in  the  Persian  Empire  a  severe  persecution  of 
the  Christians,  lasting  for  a  period  of  nearly  forty  years.  But 
there  exists  no  further  evidence  or  certain  information  regarding 
this  Syrian  emigration.  The  Thomas  of  Jerusalem  who  is 
referred  to,  known  as  Thomas  Cananaus,  the  Khan  or  Knaye 
Thomas,  plays  a  large  part  in  the  traditions  of  the  Syrian 
Christians.  He  is  supposed  to  have  founded  the  city,  or  at 
least  the  Christian  quarter,  of  Mahadevapatnam  ("  City  of  the 
Great  God,"  or  "  of  the  Great  Gods  "),  the  later  Kranganur. 
He  is  said  to  have  had  two  families  of  children,  the  one  by  his 
lawful  wife,  the  other  by  a  Nayar  concubine  ;  the  former  resided 
south  of  the  river  of  Kranganur,  the  latter  on  the  north.  The 
fairer  Tekk  Baghars,  who  pride  themselves  on  their  Syrian 
origin,  trace  their  descent  from  the  southern  family,  the  far 
more  numerous,  darker  Wadakk  Baghars  from  the  northern. 
It  is  surprising  to  find  that  the  bishops  and  the  other  native 
clergy  from  early  times  have  been  chosen  from  the  latter.     This 

^  See  Appendix  D. 

-  Anecdota  Syriaca  collegit  edidit  explicuit.    J.  P.  N.  Land,  Leyden,  1862. 


EARLY  MISSIONS  31 

division  of  the  Syrian  Christians  is  even  to-day  a  striking 
phenomenon.  Whether  Thomas  of  Jerusalem  was  a  historical 
personage,  whether  the  fact  that  the  Syrian  Christians  have 
from  early  times  called  themselves  "  Thomas  "  Christians,  has 
anything  to  do  with  his  name,  and  whether  this  Thomas  has 
been  confused  by  an  ever  more  luxuriant  tradition  with  the 
equally  mythical  exploits  of  the  Apostle  Thomas,  are  questions 
that  cannot  be  settled  with  any  certainty.^  In  a  compendium 
of  the  history  of  Syria  translated  and  published  in  181 8  by  a 
missionary  named  Bailey  there  is  found  the  following  character- 
istic summary  of  the  Syrian  tradition  :  "  In  the  course  of  time 
the  Nazarites  (the  Syrian  emigrants)  began  to  intermarry  with 
the  Christians  in  Malabar.  The  most  important  among  them 
had  four  thousand  houses  on  the  north  side  of  the  Kranganur, 
and  the  inferior  seventy-two  on  the  south  side.  The  northern 
branch  walks  in  the  ways  of  their  father,  and  the  southern  in 
those  of  their  mother.  The  northern  trade  in  gold,  silver,  and 
silk,  the  southern  in  wholly  different  commodities.  Thus  were 
the  Nazarites,  the  children  of  God,  who  dwelt  in  Kranganur, 
divided.  Thereafter  Thomas  of  Jerusalem  instituted  inquiries 
after  the  descendants  of  the  two  priests  ordained  by  the  Apostle 
Thomas,  and  appointed  along  with  the  bishops  and  priests  one 
of  them  as  archdeacon  and  others  as  leading  men,  in  order  that 
they  might  watch  over  the  affairs  of  the  Malabar  Christians, 
and  maintain  justice  by  protecting  the  weak  and  punishing 
wrong-doers.  From  that  time  bishops  were  regularly  sent  from 
Antioch,  but  the  archdeacon  and  the  leading  men  were  taken 
from  the  Christians  in  Malabar."  ^  It  has  been  often  maintained 
that  in  the  following  centuries  the  Indian  Church  was  overrun 
with  Manichseism,  but  no  convincing  proof  has  been  adduced 
up  to  the  present  time. 

About  the  year  530  the  Egyptian  merchant  Cosmas  Indico- 
pleustes  made  a  journey  in  Indian  waters.  Unfortunately  only 
the  following  brief  reference  to  the  Christian  natives  of  South 
India  is  to  be  found  in  his  writings.  "What  I  have  seen  and 
experienced  in  the  majority  of  places  during  my  stay  I  truthfully 
declare.  On  the  island  of  Taprobane  {i.e.  Ceylon)  in  Inner  India, 
where  the  Indian  Ocean  is,  there  is  to  be  found  a  community 
of  Christians  consisting  of  both  clergy  and  the  faithful,  but  I  do 
not  know  whether  there  are  any  Christians  to  be  found  beyond 
this.  Similarly  in  Male  (Malabar,  perhaps  more  particularly 
Quilon,  which  was  later  known  by  the  Arabs  as  Kullam-male), 
where  pepper  grows,  and  in  the  place  called  Caliana  (Kalyan, 
near  Bombay),  there  is  also  a  bishop,  who  receives  imposition  of 

^  See  Appendix  E. 

^  Germann,  Die  Kirche  der  Tho?tiaschrisien,     Gutersloh,  1877,  p.  97. 


32  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

hands  from  Persia,  etc."  ^  This  account  is  surprisingly  defective 
from  an  eye-witness  and  so  experienced  a  traveller  as  Cosmas ; 
but  it  is  sufficient  to  show  that  Kalyan,  Male,  and  Ceylon  may 
be  regarded  as  the  three  chief  centres  of  Christianity  in  India. 
It  is  quite  intelligible  that  the  Bishop  of  Kalyan  should  at  that 
time  have  been  in  ecclesiastical  dependence  upon  Persia,  since 
at  the  period  Persian  commerce  (at  the  Persian  Gulf)  along  the 
west  coast  of  India  was  extraordinarily  active  and  was  on  the 
point  of  driving  that  of  Rome  (by  the  Red  Sea)  out  of  the  field. 
Similarly  the  Christian  community  in  Ceylon  was  preponderat- 
ingly,  if  not  exclusively,  a  community  of  Persian  colonists,  as 
is  evident  from  another  incidental  reference  of  Cosmas :  "  The 
island  of  Ceylon  possesses  a  Christian  community  of  Persian 
settlers,  a  presbyter  and  a  deacon  ordained  in  Persia,  and  a 
complete  ecclesiastical  ministry."  But  the  natives  and  their 
kings  are  of  another  race  and  religion."  ^ 

Half  a  century  later  we  find  in  the  works  of  the  credulous 
Bishop  Gregory  of  Tours  (died  594  A.D.)  the  first  obscure 
reference  to  the  great  national  shrine  of  the  Indian  Christians, 
the  sanctuaries  of  St.  Thomas  near  Madras.  Gregory  bases  his 
statements  on  the  testimony  of  a  travelling  Syrian  monk, 
Theodore,  who  professed  to  have  been  in  Milapur  (Peacock 
City) ;  but  he  does  not  yet  mention  the  name  of  this  city  which 
afterwards  became  so  famous,  and  states,  moreover,  that  the 
remains  of  the  Apostle  Thomas  had  been  conveyed  to  Edessa 
and  buried  there.  These  shrines  of  St.  Thomas  at  Milapur 
sprang  at  once  into  the  light  of  day  by  the  discovery  in  1547  of 
the  so-called  "  Thomas  "  Cross  on  the  great  hill  of  St.  Thomas. 
It  consists  of  a  fairly  large  stone  on  which  is  carved  in  relief  a 
cross  of  an  antique  shape.  Hovering  above  it  is  the  form  of 
a  dove,  the  outlines  of  which  are  somewhat  crudely  chiselled ; 
round  the  cross  there  runs  an  inscription  which  for  centuries 
was  a  puzzle  to  scholars.  It  was  at  length  recognised  by  an 
English  Indologist,  Dr.  Burnell,  as  Pehlavi  of  the  sixth  or  seventh 
century,  and  deciphered.  But  the  translation  has  not  attained 
unanimous  acceptation.  Dr.  Burnell  translates  :  "  In  punishment 
by  the  cross  was  the  suffering  of  this  one  who  is  the  true 
Christ  God  above  and  Guide  ever  pure."  On  the  other  hand, 
another  expert.  Dr.  Haug  of  Munich,  translates :  "  He  that 
believes  in  the  Messiah  and  in  God  in  the  height  and  also 
in  the  Holy  Ghost  is  in  the  grace  of  him  who  suffered  the 
pain  of  the  cross."  * 

It  is  obvious  that  this  cross  must   be   the   product    of  a 

^  Gallandius,  Bibl.  GrcEco-latina,  Venice,  1788,  xi.  bk.  iii.  p.  449,  D.E. 

^  "  Kal  irdaav  tt]v  (KKXricnacrTiKrjv  \eiTovpyiav." 

*  iL\\6<pv\oi.  ■*  Germann,  as  before,  pp.  297,  299. 


EARLY  MISSIONS 


33 


Christian  church  in  early  times,  and  that  this  church  must  have 
been  the  centre  of  a  Christian  settlement.  It  is  remarkable  that 
an  exactly  similar  cross  with  precisely  the  same  inscription  in 
the  same  Pehlavi  characters  has  been  found  in  a  church  at 
Cottayam,  in  North  Travancore.  And  there  exists  a  third 
similar  cross  in  the  same  church  at  Cottayam.  This  last  differs 
from  the  two  older  crosses  by  having  in  a  second  panel  above 
the  large  cross  a  smaller  one  with  two  peacocks  on  each  side. 
Only  the  second  part  of  the  Pehlavi  inscription  is  given,  while 
the  first  part  has  been  replaced  by  a  quotation  from  Gal.  vi.  14 
in  the  Syrian  language.  This  third  cross  is  probably  several 
centuries  later  than  the  other  two.  The  statement  of  Cosmas 
that  the  great  Christian  communities  of  South  India  were  under 
Persian  influence,  and  were  composed  for  the  most  part  of 
Persian  colonists,  seems  to  receive  confirmation  from  these 
Pehlavi  inscriptions.  It  would  further  seem  to  be  established 
by  the  discovery  of  these  crosses  that  at  the  period  from  which 
they  date  there  was  also  a  centre  of  Christianity  on  the  Coro- 
mandel  coast  in  what  was  later  known  as  Milapur,  and  that  this 
community  was  ecclesiastically  and  linguistically  homogeneous 
with  what  later  became  the  Syrian  Church  on  the  Malabar 
coast. 

Not  very  much  later  in  date  than  the  three  crosses  which 
have  been  mentioned  are  the  famous  privilege  tablets  of  the 
Syrian  Christians  and  Cochin  Jews.  In  the  year  1549  Mar 
Jacobus,  a  venerable  bishop  of  the  Thomas  Christians,  entrusted 
to  the  care  of  the  Portuguese  Governor  of  Cochin,  Pedro  de 
Sequeira,  several  metal  tablets  as  the  most  precious  treasure 
of  his  people.  The  Portuguese  cared  so  little  about  the  price- 
less insignia  that  within  a  few  decades  the  tablets  were  lost 
and  forgotten.  They  were  rediscovered  for  the  first  time  in 
the  year  1806  by  the  learned  English  chaplain,  Dr.  Claudius 
Buchanan,  with  the  help  of  the  British  Resident,  Colonel 
Macaulay.  In  the  meantime  a  French  scholar,  Anquetil  du 
Perron,  had  in  1757  taken  an  exact  facsimile  of  two  other  well- 
preserved  and  very  ancient  copper  tablets  which  were  in  the 
possession  of  the  Jewish  community  in  Cochin.  But  the 
characters,  which  were  partly  ancient  Tamil,  partly  Chaldeo- 
Pehlavi,  partly  Sassanian-Pehlavi,  and  partly  Cufic,  presented 
the  greatest  difficulty  in  deciphering  and  translation.  While 
Tychsen,  Dr.  E.  W.  West,  Dr.  Burnell  and  Dr.  Haug  interpreted 
the  Pehlavi  and  Cufic  inscriptions,  it  was  Dr.  Gundert,  a 
missionary  of  the  Basle  Society,  who  succeeded  in  deciphering 
the  greater  part  and  the  real  text  on  the  copper  plates.  They 
have  been  discovered  to  represent  three  documents.  The  first, 
a  copper  plate  written  on  both  sides  in  ancient  Tamil  characters, 
3 


34  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

dates  probably  from  the  second  half  of  the  eighth  century. 
In  it  a  certain  king,  Vira  Raghava,  conveys  to  the  wholesale 
merchant,  Iravi  Korttan  of  Kranganur,  as  head  of  the  Christians, 
and  to  his  children  and  descendants,  the  lordship  of  Manigramam 
(Pearl  City),  with  all  the  marks  of  princely  authority,  and  with 
the  title  "Chief  Merchant  of  Kerala"  (Malabar),  This  was  no 
empty  distinction,  for  it  expressly  included  the  oversight  of  the 
four  classes  (of  foreign  merchants  ?),  and  feudal  rights  over 
the  castes  of  the  Wanier  (oil-makers),  and  the  five  classes  of  the 
Kammaler  (artisans).  Besides  this,  all  customs  dues  of  the 
ships  which  entered  the  Kodungalur  (Kranganur)  River  were  to 
belong  to  the  Lord  of  Manigramam.^  The  second  document 
consists  of  five  copper  plates  of  much  smaller  size  with  seven 
pages  in  Tamil-Malayalam,  and  two  pages  of  signatures  in 
different  languages.  In  these  Maruvan  Sapir  Iso  conveys  to 
the  community  and  church  at  Tarasapali,  which  had  been  built 
by  one  "  Iso  Data  Virai,"  a  piece  of  land  near  the  seacoast,  along 
with  several  families  of  different  heathen  castes.  The  lords  of 
Anjuvannam  and  Manigramam  were  appointed  joint  guardians 
of  this  piece  of  land  and  of  the  church  thus  endowed.  The 
third  document,  consisting  of  the  two  tablets  which  were 
discovered  in  Jewish  possession,  is  probably  the  oldest  of  the 
three,  and  contains  the  feudal  deed  of  investiture  relating  to  the 
princedom  of  Anjuvannam,  drawn  up  by  the  Perumal  (ruler  of 
Malabar),  Bhaskara  Ravi  Varma,  in  favour  of  Joseph  Rabban, 
in  terms  similar  to  those  of  the  deed  of  gift  of  Iravi  Korttan. 
Although  this  latter  document  has  been  for  long  in  Jewish 
hands,  there  is  nothing  in  the  text  which  points  to  a  Jewish 
owner  or  feudal  lord  ;  and  the  name  of  Joseph  Rabban  often 
appears  among  the  Syrian  Christians  in  both  earlier  and  later 
times.  Since  it  is  improbable  that  a  Jew  should  have  been 
appointed  as  guardian  of  a  Christian  church  and  the  land 
belonging  to  it,  as  the  Lord  of  Anjuvannam  is  according  to  the 
second  document,  it  is  more  likely  that  this  third  document 
also  belonged  originally  to  the  Christians,  and  refers  to  the 
investiture  of  a  Christian.  Without  going  into  further  details  of 
these  interesting  old  records,^  we  may  call  attention  to  a  few  of 
the  more  important  conclusions  to  be  drawn  from  them.  As 
on  the  "Thomas"  crosses,  so  here  we  find  not  yet  Syrian,  but 
Persian  names  and  characters  in  different  styles  of  writing,  Cufic, 
Chaldeo-Pehlavi,  and  Sassanian-Pehlavi,  such  as  were  in  use  in 
the  Sassanian  Empire  (226-640  A.D.).  The  Christians  appear  as 
distinguished  merchant  princes,  who  have  concentrated  in  their 
own  hands  a  large  part  of  the  commerce  of  the  Malabar  coast 

^  See  Appendix  F. 

-  For  which,  cf.  Germann,  as  above,  pp.  225-271. 


EARLY  MISSIONS  35 

(Kerala).  Most  important  of  all,  they  appear  to  have  been 
assigned  comparatively  high  rank  in  the  hide-bound  caste 
system  of  the  south  coast  region,  superior  to  that  of  the  Waniers 
and  Kammalers,  and  as  feudal  lords  to  have  been  placed  on  a 
level  with  the  aristocracy  of  the  country.  The  relatively  high 
position  of  the  Syrian  Christians  in  Travancore  and  Cochin  up 
to  the  present  day  obviously  finds  its  explanation  and  basis  in 
these  ancient  documents. 

For  the  dating  of  the  second  document,  a  deed  of  gift  of 
church  lands,  importance  must  be  attached  to  the  very  clearly 
defined  tradition  of  the  Thomas  Christians,  that  in  the  year 
823  (or  825)  two  Chaldean  (Persian)  priests.  Mar  Xabro  and 
Mar  Prodh,  landed  in  Malabar  in  the  region  of  Quilon  (Kullam) ; 
they  are  reported  to  have  received  great  privileges  from  the 
king,  and  in  particular  to  have  obtained  permission  to  build 
churches  where  they  chose — the  king  himself  presenting  the 
sites — and  to  effect  the  conversion  of  any  whom  they  could 
persuade.  The  founding  of  the  port  of  Quilon  is  assigned  by 
tradition  to  the  year  825.  Our  second  document,  according  to 
this  tradition,  has  to  do  with  the  privileges  granted  to  the  priests 
Mar  Xabro  and  Mar  Prodh.  This  contention  possesses  con- 
siderable probabilities ;  for  Maruvan  Sapir  Iso  is  probably 
identical  with  this  Mar  Xabro  (Maruvan  =  Mar ;  Sapir  =  sapor, 
Shapur,  Xabro  ;  Iso  =  Jesus,  a  distinguishing  mark  of  the  man  as 
Christian).  The  decided  preponderance  of  Persian  influences  on 
the  one  hand  and  the  progressive  assimilation  of  the  Christian 
community  to  its  Indian  environment  on  the  other  is  remarkably 
confirmed  by  the  form  of  several  other  names  in  the  documents. 
Iravi,  related  to  the  Hindu  word  Ravi  =  Sun,  no  longer  permits 
the  Persian  root-form  to  appear.  The  word  Tarasapali,  so 
much  fought  over,  seems  to  be  formed  from  the  modern  Persian 
"  Tarsa,"  meaning  Christ,  and  the  Tamil  word  "  Pali,"  meaning 
place.  The  name  of  the  recipient  in  the  second  document, 
Iso  Data,  is  identical  with  the  present-day  Jesudasen  (servant 
of  Jesus). 

The  period  which  the  discovery  of  these  various  more  or  less 
contemporary  inscriptions  reveals  to  us,  and  which  was  obviously 
one  of  great  importance  for  the  Indian  Church,  is  illuminated  by 
only  a  very  few  meagre  accounts  in  the  writings  of  Western 
authors.  The  Nestorian  Patriarch  of  Seleucia,  Jesu-Jabus  of 
Adiabene  (650-660  A.D.),  complains  in  a  letter  to  the  Persian 
Metropolitan  Simeon  that  through  his  fault  the  peoples  of  Great 
India,  which  stretches  from  Persia  to  Quilon,  are  without 
bishops.  More  than  a  century  earlier,  about  538  A.D.,  the 
Abyssinians,  Himyarites,  and  Indians,  since  they  could  obtain 
from  the  Emperor  Justinian  no  bishop  congenial  to  them,  who 


36  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

would  repudiate  the  creed  of  Chalcedon,  are  said  to  have  united 
in  consecrating  a  common  bishop  through  the  laying-on,  not  of 
hands,  but  of  a  copy  of  the  Gospels.  If  there  is  anything  at 
all  in  this  mythical  account,  it  is  still  highly  improbable  that 
the  churches  of  South  India  took  part  in  the  proceedings,  since 
at  that  period  all  their  associations  were  with  Persia,  and  not 
with  the  neighbourhood  of  the  Red  Sea.  On  the  other  hand,  it 
appears  to  be  certain  that  in  the  time  of  the  Caliph  Abd  al 
Malik  (685-705  A.D.)  the  Indian  churches,  by  a  ruse,  got  Bishop 
Theodore  to  consecrate  for  them  a  bishop  belonging  to  the  sect 
of  the  Phantasiasts  in  Alexandria  ;  this  man,  however,  never 
reached  India.  In  the  year  760  India  seems  to  have  been 
raised  to  an  independent  metropolitan  under  the  Nestorian 
Patriarch  of  Seleucia ;  and  in  a  synodal  decree  of  the  patriarch 
Theodosius  (852-858  A.D.)  the  metropolitans  of  China,  India, 
and  Persia  are  referred  to  side  by  side,  although  their  names 
are  not  given.  In  841  the  Arab  merchant  Sulaiman  wrote  an 
account  of  his  frequent  Indian  travels.  In  these  he  mentions 
the  harbour  of  Batumah  in  South  India;  scholars  suppose  this 
name  to  stand  for  Beit  Tumah,  the  house  of  Thomas,  refer  it 
to  Milapur,  and  conclude  that  the  sanctity  of  the  shrines  of 
St.  Thomas  was  so  little  disputed  at  that  period  in  South  India 
that  the  much  frequented  harbour  of  Milapur  took  its  name 
from  them.  In  the  year  883  the  gifted  and  far-seeing  King 
of  England,  Alfred  the  Great,  sent  the  two  priests  Sighelm  and 
Athelstan  to  India  via  Rome,  to  carry  the  votive  offerings  which 
he  had  promised  to  St.  Thomas  during  the  siege  of  London. 
The  two  ambassadors  seem  to  have  returned  safely  from  their 
long  journey,  but  of  their  experiences  we  unfortunately  know 
nothing. 

The  relations  of  India  with  the  West,  which  had  never  been 
very  extensive,  were  almost  entirely  severed  in  consequence  of 
the  Arab  conquest,  and  the  rise  of  the  great  Muhammadan 
Empire  from  632  A.D.  onwards.  And  similarly  the  circum- 
stances of  the  Christians  of  India,  after  a  short  season  of 
prosperity,  seem  to  have  changed  for  the  worse.  All  that  we 
know  is  based  upon  the  uncertain  oral  and  written  traditions 
which  were  current  among  the  Thomas  Christians  as  late  as 
the  beginning  of  last  century.  Whitehouse,  a  trustworthy 
authority,  in  his  ''  Lingerings  of  Light  in  a  Dark  Land"  sums 
them  up  as  follows:  "In  the  third  century  a  certain  sorcerer, 
Manikka  Vasagar,  arrived  in  the  Chola  country  (on  the  east 
coast  of  India),  and  having  deceived  and  perverted  many  Chris- 
tians by  his  wiles,  and  sown  the  seeds  of  heresy  among  them, 
found  his  way  round  by  land  to  the  Malayalam  country.  At 
that  time  there  were  many  Christians  settled  in  the  southern 


EARLY  MISSIONS  37 

part  of  Travancore,  between  Quilon  and  Kottar,  and  in  this 
district  he  laboured,  and  by  his  pretended  miracles  obtained 
much  the  same  influence  over  them  that  Simon  Magus  did 
over  the  people  of  Samaria.  If  any  one  was  taken  with  serious 
illness,  or  there  was  disease  among  their  cattle,  the  sorcerer  was 
sent  for  to  breathe  over  them  or  mutter  his  charms  and  apply 
his  sacred  ashes.  He  taught  them  to  use  mantra  or  cabalistic 
sentences  in  verse,  and  also  assured  them  that  if  they  partook 
of  a  mixture  composed  of  the  five  products  of  the  cow,  they 
would  find  it  a  specific  for  all  kinds  of  sickness,  and  secure  long 
life  to  themselves.  Eight  families  were  perverted  by  him,  and 
these  so  far  increased  as  to  form  at  length  a  community  of 
ninety-six  houses."  The  more  usual  form  of  the  tradition  is  that 
ninety-six  families  fell  away,  and  that  only  eight,  the  so-called 
Dhareyaygul,  or  Confessors,  remained  true  to  the  Christian  faith. 
In  all  probability  this  story  refers  to  the  appearance  of  the  Saivite 
poet  and  philosopher  Manikka  Vasagar,  who  prepared  the  way 
for  the  overthrowof  Buddhism  and  the  restoration  of  Brahmanism, 
which  after  a  fierce  and  bloody  struggle  was  carried  out  in  the 
ninth  century.  The  activity  of  Manikka  Vasagar  is  variously 
assigned  to  a  period  between  500  and  800  A.D.  It  would  appear 
that  the  movement  directed  against  the  Buddhists  affected  the 
Christian  communities  as  well.  Whether  Christianity  had 
spread  previously  to  that  time  along  the  Coromandel  coast 
outside  of  Milapur  we  do  not  know.  In  Southern  Travancore 
it  was  practically  rooted  out,  with  the  exception  of  the  still  sur- 
viving remnant  of  the  Dhareyaygul,  which  is  to  be  met  with  in 
the  ancient  capital  Travancore,  and  the  new  capital  Trivandrum. 
This  unhappy  remnant,  in  consequence  of  its  severance  from 
the  main  body  of  Christians,  has  for  centuries  been  badly 
neglected,  and  has  become  addicted  to  heathen  customs. 

With  regard  to  the  four  centuries  which  follow,  from  850  to 
1250,  we  know  absolutely  nothing.  The  Archimandrite  Nilos 
Doxopatrios  (1143  A.D.)  mentions  in  a  controversial  treatise 
that  besides  Asia  and  Anatolia  the  Patriarch  of  Antioch  had  a 
thorough  knowledge  of  India  also,  whither  he  had  previously 
dispatched  a  Catholicos,  ordained  by  himself,  who  took  his 
title  from  Romogyris  (Ramagiri,  i.e.  Rama's  Mountain  ?). 
We  know  nothing  of  cither  Ramogyris  or  of  this  Catholicos, 
In  the  year  1122  there  appeared  in  Rome  a  person  who  pro- 
fessed to  be  the  Indian  patriarch  John,  who  told  the  most 
incredible  tales  about  the  church  of  St.  Thomas  in  Milapur, 
and  thereby  caused  great  amazement  to  the  credulous  Pope 
and  his  cardinals.  He  appears  to  have  been  an  impostor  who 
had  obtained  in  Syria  a  confused  account  of  the  shrines  of  the 
Indian  Christians. 


38  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 


(b)   The  First  Missionaries  from  Rome  ^ 

About  the  middle  of  the  thirteenth  century  the  veil  of  dark- 
ness which  for  five  hundred  years  had  hidden  Eastern  Asia 
from  the  eyes  of  Europe  was  rent  asunder.  The  Emperor  of 
Mongolia,  Jhengiz  Khan,  and  his  successors  built  up  their 
mighty  empire  in  the  East,  and  were  far-seeing  and  unprejudiced 
enough  to  establish  communications  with  the  West,  even  though 
these  proved,  in  the  long-run,  only  sporadic.  Within  the  pale 
of  Christendom  the  two  great  missionary  Orders  of  the  Middle 
Ages,  the  Franciscans  and  the  Dominicans,  were  at  that  time 
just  in  the  pristine  vigour  of  their  strength,  and  afforded  the 
Popes  fitting  messengers  for  the  carrying  out  of  ecclesiastical 
and  political  missions  in  far  and  unknown  lands.  In  the  course 
of  relations  with  China  a  certain  amount  of  missionary  activity 
fell  to  the  lot  of  India,  even  though  the  latter  country  was  regarded 
merely  as  a  kind  of  half-way  house  on  the  journey  to  the  Far  East. 

The  famous  traveller,  Marco  Polo,  who  travelled  in  the 
East  from  1270  to  1295,  was  the  first  to  bring  a  moderately 
trustworthy  account  of  India  to  the  ears  of  Europe.  He  had 
been  twice  to  the  East  Indies,  once  as  commander  of  several 
ships  belonging  to  Kubla  Khan,  and  then  again  as  commander 
of  a  Chinese  fleet  escorting  a  Mongolian  princess  to  Persia. 
Concerning  by  far  the  most  important  Christian  church  of  the 
East,  the  Syrian  Church  in  Malabar,  he  seems  to  have  heard 
practically  nothing;  he  merely  says  concerning  it:  "In  the 
kingdom  of  Quilon  (Travancore)  dwell  many  Christians  and 
Jews  who  still  retain  their  own  language."  Nor  does  he  seem  to 
have  himself  been  in  Milapur,  but  he  has  heard  much  about  it. 
The  south-eastern  portion  of  India,  the  Tamil  country,  is  called 
by  him,  and  by  the  subsequent  Christian  writers  of  the  next  cen- 
tury, Maabar.  From  the  confusion  of  this  curious  name  with 
that  of  the  west  coast  Malabar,  probably  arose  the  custom  of 
calling  the  Tamils  "Malabars"  and  their  language  "Malabar," 
which  prevailed  during  the  whole  of  the  eighteenth  century, 
even  amongst  Protestant  missionaries.  Polo  writes :  "  In  the 
province  of  Maabar  lies  the  body  of  the  glorious  martyr,  St. 
Thomas  the  Apostle,  who  suffered  martyrdom  there.  He  rests 
in  a  little  town  which  is  visited  by  few  merchants  because  of  its 
insignificant  commerce,  but  a  great  multitude  of  Christians  and 
Saracens  make  pilgrimages  thither.  .  .  .  The  Christians  who 
go  there  on  pilgrimage  gather  earth  from  the  spot  on  which  he 
was  struck  down  ;  it  is  red  in  colour,  and  they  carry  it  thence 
with  every  mark  of  reverence ;  later  on  they  frequently  use  it 
for  working  miracles,  and  dissolving  it  in  water,  they  give  it 
^  See  Appendix  G. 


EARLY  MISSIONS  39 

to  the  sick,  whereby  many  an  infirmity  is  cured.  .  .  .  Many 
miracles  are  wrought  there  every  day  through  the  agency  of  the 
blessed  saint.  The  Christians  upon  whom  devolves  the  care  of 
the  church  possess  groves  of  the  trees  which  bear  Indian  nuts 
(cocoa-nut  palms),  and  from  these  they  draw  their  means  of 
subsistence.  As  tribute  they  pay  one  of  the  royal  Brethren  one 
groat  per  month  for  every  tree."  And  then  he  goes  on  to  relate 
the  then  universally  accepted  legend  of  the  martyrdom  of 
Thomas.  Clearly  the  shrines  of  St.  Thomas  at  Milapur  were 
at  that  time  the  most  celebrated  pilgrim  resorts  amongst  Indian 
Christians,  and  in  their  immediate  neighbourhood  there  still 
existed  a  not  inconsiderable  community  of  Christians — an  oasis 
in  the  midst  of  vast  heathen  deserts. 

Almost  contemporary  with  Marco  Polo,  the  Franciscan, 
John  of  Monte  Corvino,  afterwards  Archbishop  of  Peking- 
Kambulac,  passed  thirteen  months  in  South  India  (i  292-1 293). 
Unfortunately  we  know  almost  nothing  of  his  work  there.  He 
writes :  "  I  came  to  India  and  spent  thirteen  months  in  that 
province  where  the  church  of  the  holy  Apostle  Thomas  is ;  at 
different  places  in  that  province  I  baptized  some  hundred  per- 
sons ;  my  companion  was  Brother  Nicolo  de  Pistorio  of  the 
order  of  the  Preaching  Friars."^  This  Dominican,  Nicholas 
of  Pistoja,  must  have  died  soon  after. 

About  1 3 10  a  third  friar,  Menentillus,  was  in  India  for  a 
short  time;  in  his  letters,  which  have  been  published  in  the 
Gelehrten  Anzeigen  dcr  Milnchener  Akadcmie  (1855,  vol.  xl. 
nos.  21  and  22),  we  find  only  one  passage  of  interest  to  us: 
"  Christians  and  Jews  there  are  (in  the  coast  districts  of  India  ?), 
but  they  are  few  and  of  no  high  standing.  Christians  and  all 
who  have  Christian  names  are  often  persecuted." 

A  decade  later  the  first  organised  (?)  missionary  work  on 
the  part  of  the  Roman  Catholics  was  commenced.  About  the 
year  13 19  a  number  of  Dominicans  and  Franciscans  had  left 
Avignon,  then  the  seat  of  the  Popes,  for  the  Far  East,  and  had 
preached  without  any  considerable  success  in  all  the  towns 
between  Tabris  and  Ormuz.  At  the  latter  place  they  struck 
a  bargain  with  a  ship  about  to  sail  for  the  church  of  St. 
Thomas  ;  but  owing  to  the  treachery  of  the  sailors  a  number 
of  the  monks  found  themselves  separated  from  the  main  body 
on  the  small  island  of  Diu.  The  Dominican  Jordan,  and  the 
four  Franciscans,  Thomas  of  Tolentino,  James  of  Padua, 
Demetrius  of  Tiflis,  and  Peter  of  Siena,  succeeded  in  crossing 
to  Thana,  on  the  island  of  Salsette  (near  the  modern  Bombay). 
There  they  found  fifteen  Nestorian  households,  and  heard  that 
in  Supera  (Sefer)  and  Paroth  (Broach)  there  were  also  many 

^  See  Appendix  H. 


40  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

Christians  living,  though  they  were  Christians  rather  in  name 
than  in  reaUty,  since,  owing  to  their  lack  of  teaching,  they  did 
not  know  what  they  ought  to  believe.  Jordan  records  that 
they  knew  so  little  of  Christianity  that  they  confused  Christ 
with  the  Apostle  Thomas ;  furthermore,  that  in  quite  recent 
times  the  communities  had  been  terribly  decimated  by  the 
"  Saracens,"  and  many  churches  transformed  into  mosques. 
This  was  the  time  of  the  Islamic  invasion  and  conquest  of 
North-West  India.  Whitehouse,  in  the  book  quoted  above, 
states  that  even  in  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century  a 
Government  official,  whilst  land-surveying  on  the  west  coast  of 
India  to  the  north-west  of  Bombay,  came  across  one  or  two 
isolated  colonies  of  Nestorian  Christians  near  the  seacoast, 
weak  in  numbers,  poor  and  wholly  ignorant.  (Cf.  also  Germann, 
as  above,  p.  5,  note.)  This  is  the  region  of  the  ancient  see  of 
Caliana  (Kalyan)  already  mentioned  by  Cosmas  Indicopleustes, 
in  which,  therefore,  during  the  seven  hundred  years  that  we 
have  heard  nothing  about  them,  communities  of  no  inconsider- 
able size  must  have  preserved  at  least  a  nominal  Christianity. 
Jordan  at  once  continued  his  journey  to  Supera  and  Broach 
in  order  to  inquire  into  the  state  of  the  believers  there.  In 
the  meantime  the  four  brethren  left  behind  in  Thana  became 
involved  in  disputes  with  the  fanatical  Muhammadans  concern- 
ing the  Deity  of  Christ  and  the  prophetic  office  of  Muhammad, 
and  whilst  they  were  confessing  their  faith  three  of  them  were 
fallen  upon  by  armed  men  on  Maundy  Thursday,  and  beheaded 
under  a  tree  (1321).  The  Kadi  thereupon  sent  men  to  seize 
their  baggage,  and  the  fourth,  Peter,  was  taken  prisoner,  and 
put  to  death  with  great  torture  on  Good  Friday.  Thus  did 
Romish  missions  in  India  commence  with  a  martyrdom,  and  we 
are  fortunate  enough  to  possess  two  letters  in  which  Jordan 
gives  exact  particulars  of  the  facts  of  the  case. 

Jordan  seems  to  have  remained  two  years  in  India  after 
the  tragic  death  of  his  companions.  He  boasts  of  having 
baptized  and  brought  into  the  faith  close  on  three  hundred. 
When  in  another  place  he  gives  the  number  of  those  baptized 
as  only  one  hundred  and  thirty,  we  may  suppose  that  the  rest 
were  Nestorians  whom  he  brought  into  the  fold  of  Rome.  He 
then  returned  for  a  time  to  Furope.  In  1328  he  was  conse- 
crated Bishop  of  Ouilon  by  Pope  John  XXII.,  obviously  with 
special  regard  to  the  Thomas  Christians  in  the  south,  amongst 
whom  he  was  to  labour  on  behalf  of  the  Romish  Church. 
Most  probably  he  returned  to  India  in  1330,  and  worked  for 
some  years  in  the  south  of  the  country  on  the  Malabar  coast. 
Unfortunately  that  is  all  we  know  about  his  labours,  save  that 
in    a    general    report   of    his   work    he   states   that   with   his 


EARLY  MISSIONS  41 

companions  the  Franciscans  and  Dominicans  he  had  won  over 
to  the  faith  ten  thousand  schismatics  (these  must  be  Thomas 
Christians)  and  unbeh'evers,  and  that  so  far  as  his  experience 
went  he  had  found  them  ten  times  better  and  more  loving  than 
European  Christians.  He  says  tliat  if  he  had  had  from  two  to 
three  hundred  faithful  missionaries,  less  than  a  year  would 
have  been  needed  to  convert  over  ten  thousand  people. 
Because  of  the  limited  numbers  of  his  assistants  they  were 
unable  to  visit  many  districts.  On  the  other  hand,  the  emis- 
saries of  Islam  speedily  overran  the  entire  Orient.  They  were 
the  greatest  foes  and  persecutors  of  Christian  missionaries,  and 
during  his  time  of  office  alone  had  cruelly  put  to  death  five 
Dominicans  and  four  Minorites.  Jordan  returned  afterwards 
to  Europe,  but  we  know  neither  when  nor  why. 

About  the  same  time,  apparently,  two  other  Europeans 
visited  India — Odoric  (Odoricus)  of  Portenau  in  Friaul  (who 
died  in  1331),  and  the  adventurous  knight,  Sir  John  Mandeville, 
who  appropriated  Odoric's  narrative,  and  gave  it  a  truly 
fabulous  colouring.  Odoric  went  through  Thana,  visited  the 
sepulchre  of  the  martyrs,  opened  it  and  placed  the  remains  in 
handsome  chests  in  order  to  convey  them  to  a  Franciscan 
mission  station  in  Upper  India.  On  the  journey  thither  (his 
destination  was  probably  Seitoon  in  China)  he  touched  at 
the  Malabar  ports  of  Flandrina  (the  Muhammadan  Fanderina) 
and  Cyncilim  (Singlatz  or  Gincalam,  or,  according  to  South 
Indian  tradition,  Kranganur).  That  which  interests  us  more 
especially  is  what  Odoric  and  Mandeville  have  to  say  of  a 
reliable  nature  concerning  the  Christian  communities.  Christians 
and  Jews  apparently  live  at  Flandrina ;  they  are  frequently  at 
war  ;  the  Christians,  however,  are  always  victorious.  Further- 
more, at  Singlatz  (Kranganur)  and  Sarche  (Sachee,  Barchen,  or 
probably  Saimur  or  Saighar  is  meant)  reside  many  Jews, 
faithful  Christians,  and  Mendynantes  (mendicant  friars?).^ 
Both  travellers  then  conduct  us  in  ten  days  to  the  kingdom  of 
Mobaron,  Marco  Polo's  Maabar.  There,  in  a  church  at  one  of 
the  many  towns  of  those  parts,  rests  the  body  of  St.  Thomas. 
This  church  is  full  of  idols.  Round  about  it  in  fifteen  houses 
dwell  numbers  of  Nestorian  monks,  recreant  Christians,  and 
schismatics.  Mandeville  then  proceeds  to  relate  many  wonder- 
ful things  about  the  grave  of  St.  Thomas  ;  amongst  others  he 
makes  the  remarkable  statement  that,  although  as  a  matter  of 
fact  the  Syrians  had  translated  St.  Thomas'  body  to  Edessa, 
yet  at  a  later  period  it  had  been  brought  back  to  India — a 
proof  of  the  way  in  which  even  then  the  old  Christian  traditions 
wrestled  with  the  later  Indian  one  for  the  mastery. 

^  See  Appendix  I. 


42  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

The  Papal  Nuncio,  John  of  Marignola,  on  returning  from 
China,  spent  the  years  1 348-1 350  in  India,  He  arrived  in 
Ouilon  at  Easter,  1348,  and  passed  thirteen  months  in  Malabar. 
Pepper  was  the  principal  article  of  export,  and  the  Thomas 
Christians,  who  enjoyed  a  monopoly  in  it,  levied  an  export 
duty  on  every  pound  sent  out  of  the  country.  From  this 
income  they  were  able,  strangely  enough,  to  contribute  to  the 
Papal  Legate,  at  first  one  hundred  gold  fanams  per  month, 
and  later  one  thousand !  Marignola  lodged  at  the  Latin 
church  of  St.  George,  and  he  had  it  decorated  with  valuable 
paintings.  At  his  departure  he  boasted  of  having  brought  to 
completion  many  glorious  projects,  but  what  these  were  we 
are  unfortunately  not  told.  He  travelled  southwards  by  land 
to  Cape  Comorin,  where  he  caused  a  most  grotesque  rite  to 
be  celebrated.  On  the  promontory  he  erected  a  marble  pillar 
on  top  of  which,  in  the  presence  of  innumerable  crowds  of 
spectators,  he  placed  a  stone  cross,  anointed  it  with  oil,  con- 
secrated and  blessed  it.  From  thence  he  journeyed  to  the 
Maldive  Islands,  where  at  that  time  there  were  also  Christians 
residing.  Here  too  he  was  received — if  he  is  not  drawing  the 
long  bow — with  remarkable  honours  by  the  Princess,  or  the 
"  far-famed  Queen  of  Sheba,"  as  the  fanciful  prelate  expresses 
it.  Then  he  visited  Ceylon,  where  he  was  thrown  into  durance 
vile  for  four  months  ;  but  in  spite  of  this  long  detention,  and 
many  speculations  on  the  subject  of  Paradise,  Adam's  House, 
and  Adam's  Peak,  he  was  unable  to  learn  anything  concerning 
the  Christian  church  on  the  island  in  preceding  centuries. 
Released  from  his  imprisonment,  he  travelled  as  quickly  as 
possible  to  the  Thomas  shrines  at  Milapur,  where,  however,  he 
remained  but  four  days.  He  calls  Milapur  Mirapolis.  One  of 
the  churches  which  he  found  there  he  believes  to  have  been 
built  by  Thomas  himself,  the  others  by  his  orders.  Of  course 
he  narrates  the  legend  of  Thomas  being  shot  to  death  by  an 
arrow.  "  Many  miracles  are  wrought  upon  Christians,  Tartars, 
and  heathens,  by  the  blood-besprinkled  ground,  and  also  by 
draughts  of  water  from  a  certain  magic  spring";  in  fact, 
Marignola  claims  to  have  experienced  in  propria  persond 
one  such  miracle,  but  unfortunately  he  forgets  to  describe  it. 
The  only  other  thing  we  are  told  is  that  close  by  the  very 
beautiful  church  of  St.  Thomas  there  lay  a  small  vineyard. 
Marignola  returned  to  Europe  via  Nineveh,  Damascus,  and 
Jerusalem. 

With  this  we  come  to  the  end  of  this  short  period  of 
Roman  Catholic  missions ;  indeed,  it  is  hardly  to  be  termed 
a  missionary  period,  for  of  actual  missionary  work  we  read 
absolutely  nothing.     We  may,  however,  read  between  the  lines 


EARLY  MISSIONS  43 

of  the  few  scattered  narratives  that  the  Franciscans  were  even 
then  trying  to  establish  themselves  in  force  amongst  the 
Thomas  Christians  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Quilon — Jordan's 
10,000  converts,  the  "  Companions  "  of  this  first  Roman  Catholic 
Bishop  of  Quilon,  the  Latin  church  of  St.  George,  and  so  on, 
all  pointing  in  this  same  direction. 

With  1350  all  our  information  again  comes  to  an  end  for  a 
century  and  a  half.  Roman  Catholic  missions  in  China  likewise 
terminate  with  the  fall  of  the  Mongolian  dynasty,  and  the 
death  of  the  last  Archbishop  of  Peking,  William  of  Prato,  in 
1370.  In  1449  the  Venetian  renegade,  Nicolo  de  Conti,  returned 
to  Rome  from  his  adventurous  travels  in  the  East ;  he  related 
thatlin  Milapur,  a  town  of  one  thousand  hearths,  the  body  of 
St.  Thomas  "  reposes  honourably  in  a  large  and  beautiful  church, 
close  to  which  dwell  a  number  of  Nestorian  Christians,  who  are 
also  found  disseminated  all  over  India,  just  as  Jews  are  found 
in  Europe."  That  is  the  only  mention  of  Indian  Christianity, 
and  an  incomplete  one  to  boot,  during  the  fifteenth  century. 

For  twelve  whole  centuries  slight  traces  of  Christian  influence 
upon  India  can  be  detected,  but  any  direct  information  thereon 
is  unfortunately  but  as  a  vanishing  echo  from  afar.  Had  not  the 
discovery  of  a  sea-route  to  India  brought  news  of  the  existence 
of  a  large  Indian  church  in  Malabar  and  of  very  ancient  Christian 
pilgrim  shrines  at  Milapur,  we  should  have  been  unable  out  of 
these  scattered  notices  to  construct  any  idea  of  the  extent 
of  Christian  activity  during  these  centuries. 

It  has  been  asked  whether  Christian  thought  has  therefore  left 
no  impression  upon  the  Hindu  mind,  so  susceptible  to  religious 
influences,  and  whether  traces  of  some  such  impression  are  not 
to  be  found  in  the  literature  or  traditions  of  India.  In  the 
twelfth  book  of  the  great  Indian  epic,  the  Mahabharata,  a  "  white 
island "  (Svetadvipa)  is  spoken  of,  which  is  said  to  lie  off  the 
northern  shores  of  the  Milky  Sea,  this  latter  being  situated  in 
a  northerly  direction  from  Meru,  "  the  Mountain  of  the  Gods  "  ; 
the  inhabitants  of  this  island  are  white,  and  glittering  as  the 
moonlight.  Because  of  their  religious  views  they  are  named 
"  ekantinas,"  or  monotheists.  The  source  of  true  knowledge  for 
them  is  said  to  be  "  devajaga,"  a  sinking  of  themselves  in  the 
contemplation  of  God.  They  adore  one  sole  and  invisible  God, 
"  Narayana,"  to  whom  they  often  softly  murmur  prayers  in  the 
spirit.  They  are  endowed  with  the  most  marvellous  faith 
(bhakti).  Only  in  the  second  age  of  the  world  would  the  men 
to  whom  had  been  communicated  the  doctrine  of  an  invisible 
Divine  Being  take  part  in  the  final  accomplishment  of  the  work 
of  God. 

This   is  clearly  an  echo  of  Christian  teaching,  which   had 


44  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

somehow  come  to  the  knowledge  of  the  sacred  singer.  Dr. 
Lorinscr,  a  German  OrientaHst,  claims  to  be  able  to  point  out  in 
theBhagavadGita,one  of  the  most  beautiful  and  profound  sections 
of  the  same  Mahabharata,  more  than  a  hundred  passages  which 
are  reminiscent  of  the  New  Testament.  Other  scholars,  however, 
who  have  tested  Lorinser's  conjectures  are  unable  to  find  any 
direct  and  certain  connection  between  the  two.  An  attempt  has 
been  made  to  trace  strong  Christian  influence  in  the  whole  trend 
of  Vaishnavism  during  the  Middle  Ages,  emphasising  as  it  does 
faith  (bhakti)  and  union  with  God.  But  these  questions  are  too 
complicated,  and  as  yet  too  hypothetical,  for  us  here  to  give  any 
brief  account  of  them.  In  this  difficult  branch  of  knowledge 
the  region  of  conjecture  has  not  yet  been  passed. 

2.  From  the  Landing  of  the  Portuguese  to  the 
Advent  of  Protestant  Missions 

(a)  i4.g8-JS4-2 

In  May  1487  the  wise  and  enterprising  King  of  Portugal, 
Joao  II.,  dispatched  two  ambassadors  to  the  East  with  instruc- 
tions to  reach  India  by  land  and  to  obtain  information  with 
regard  to  a  possible  sea-route  thither.  One  of  these  ambassadors, 
Pedro  de  Covilhas,  took  ship  from  Arabia  to  Malabar,  and  soon 
sent  back  valuable  information  for  the  king  his  master.  Acting 
on  this,  Vasco  da  Gama  sailed  for  India  in  1497  at  the  head  of 
a  Portuguese  fleet,  and  landed  at  Calicut  on  May  9th,  1498. 
This  journey  completed  that  union  of  the  lands  of  the  West  and 
of  India  which  had  been  sought  for  in  vain  for  so  many  long 
centuries,  and  it  marks  the  advent  of  a  new  epoch,  an  epoch 
of  Roman  Catholic  missions  in  India.  The  Portuguese  King 
Manuel  l.^  (1495-1521),  and  much  more  his  bigoted  successor, 
Joao  III.  (1521-1557),  deemed  it  their  mostsacred  duty,  together 
with  colonial  conquest  and  exploitation,  to  plant  Christianity 
— of  course  of  the  Romish  type — in  the  newly  discovered  and 
inestimably  vast  regions  of  the  East  and  of  the  West.  The  two 
missionary  Orders,  the  Dominicans  and  the  Franciscans,  com- 
posed for  purposes  of  this  kind  an  imposing  army  of  combatants, 
and  many  secular  clergy  joined  their  ranks.  Even  on  board  the 
second  Portuguese  fleet  for  India,  which  sailed  under  Cabral 
in  1500,  hosts  of  monks  destined  for  missionary  service  were  dis- 
patched, and  by  nearly  every  ship  bound  thither  after  that  their 
numbers  were  augmented.  Goa  became  at  once  the  centre  of 
an  ecclesiastical  hierarchy  and  of  a  great  colonial  empire.  In 
1534  it  was  raised  to  the  dignity  of  a  bishopric  and  placed  under 
^  See  Appendix  J. 


EARLY  MISSIONS  45 

the  charge  of  Bishop  Joao  de  Albuquerque  (1533-1553;  the 
see  was  unoccupied  from  1 5 53  to  1 560).  After  his  death  Goa  was 
made  an  archbishopric  in  1557,  and  the  Archbishops  Caspar  de 
Leam  Pereira  (1560),  Vincent  da  Fonseca  (1585),  Matthew  of 
Medina  (1590),  and  in  an  especial  degree  Alexio  de  Menezes 
(1594),  endowed  it  with  increasing  splendour.  Other  bases  of 
the  Portuguese  naval  supremacy,  such  as  Ormuz,  Mozambique, 
etc.,  were  also  provided  with  churches  and  monasteries,  secular 
clergy  and  monks.  In  this  direction  the  Franciscans  were  par- 
ticularly energetic,  building  monasteries  at  Goa,  Cochin,  Diu, 
Bassein,  Shaul,  Salsette,  and  other  places.  As  the  Portuguese 
encouraged  intermarriages  between  their  soldiers  and  sailors  and 
native  women,  and  baptized  their  frequently  illegitimate  offspring 
without  inquiry,  and  as  furthermore  they  encouraged  and  re- 
warded in  every  possible  way  the  embracing  of  Christianity 
by  the  natives,  there  soon  grew  up,  especially  around  Goa,  a 
not  inconsiderable  church  of  nominal  Christians — whose  moral 
condition  it  must  be  admitted  was  generally  deplorable,  and  who 
reflected  little  honour  upon  the  faith  they  professed.  The  first 
forty  years  of  Portuguese  Catholic  missions  are,  however,  poor 
in  noteworthy  events  or  success,  if  we  except  the  mysterious 
baptism  of  a  Rajah  of  Tanore,  on  the  Malabar  coast.  The 
first  star  of  magnitude  which  arose  in  the  sky  of  that  mission 
was  Francisco  Xavier.  The  day  he  set  foot  on  Indian  soil, 
May  6th,  1542,  is  the  birthday  of  Roman  Catholic  missionary 
activity  in  India  on  a  large  scale. 

(b)  Francisco  Xavier'^ 

Francisco  Xavier,  who  was  born  on  April  7th,  1506,  in  the 
castle  of  Xavier,  Navarre,  came  of  a  noble  family  and  was 
related  on  his  mother's  side  to  the  royal  house  of  Navarre  and 
to  the  Bourbons.  He  was  gifted  with  penetrating  intelligence 
and  a  generous  disposition,  and  received  an  excellent  education 
in  theology  and  philosophy.  An  intimate  friend  of  Ignacio 
Loyola,  he  assisted  him  in  founding  the  Order  of  the  Jesuits  on 
September  27th,  1 540.  The  headquarters  of  Portuguese  rule  in 
India  was,  as  we  have  already  said,  Goa.  The  Bishop  of  Goa, 
and  later  the  Archbishop,  had  sent  out  clergy  to  the  Molucca 
Islands,  to  the  Malay  Peninsula,  to  Travancore  and  the 
Coromandel  coast,  to  Diu  on  the  peninsula  of  Gujarat,  to 
Ormuz  on  the  Persian  Gulf,  to  Sofala  and  Mozambique — in  short, 
to  all  the  Portuguese  possessions  in  the  Indian  seas.  On  the 
island  of  Ceylon  there  were  also  a  few  missionaries.  But  the 
zealous  King  Joao  III.  of  Portugal  was  far  from  satisfied  with 
1  See  Appendix  G. 


46  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

the  progress  hitherto  made  by  Christianity.  His  principal 
adviser,  Joao  Gavan,  directed  his  attention  to  the  founder  of 
the  Order  of  the  Jesuits,  and  induced  him  to  request  the  sei-vices 
of  this  entire  Order,  as  far  as  possible,  for  Indian  mission  work. 
Loyola,  however,  did  not  approve  of  the  migration  of  his  whole 
Order  to  India  :  he  chose  only  two  men  for  the  purpose,  and 
those  two,  Simon  Rodriguez  and  Nicolas  Bobadilla,  precisely  the 
weakest  of  its  members.  It  was  only  when  obstacles  arose  in 
the  way  of  their  departure  that  he  allowed  Francisco  Xavier  to 
replace  them  and  to  sail  for  India. 

Beyond  all  manner  of  doubt  Xavier  towered  head  and 
shoulders  above  all  other  Europeans  then  dwelling  in  India 
or  Eastern  Asia — merchants  and  public  officials  as  well  as 
missionaries  and  priests — both  in  the  thoroughness  of  his 
scholarship,  the  earnestness  and  fervour  of  his  unquestionable 
piety,  the  consuming  ardour  of  his  work,  his  boundless  self- 
denial  and  self-mortification,  and  his  undissembled  love  of  the 
truth.  But  these  remarkable  qualities,  which  show  Xavier  to 
have  been  indeed  a  great  man,  can  only  be  truly  discerned  when 
they  are  disinterred  from  the  mountain  of  rubbish  in  the  shape 
of  superstitious  legends  and  imaginary  and  highly  magnified 
fables,  under  which  his  Jesuit  biographers  and  their  successors 
have  buried  the  picture  of  his  life.  Happily  this  is  still  possible 
for  the  seeker  after  truth,  owing  to  the  extensive  and  indubit- 
ably genuine  correspondence  of  Xavier,  by  means  of  which  we 
are  enabled  to  obtain  a  distinct  view  of  his  real  personality. 
The  miracles  his  admirers  have  attributed  to  him  are  frequently 
quite  insipid  and  ridiculous.  Amongst  the  ten  miracles  set 
down  in  the  Canon,  there  occurs,  for  instance,  the  following 
incredible  story :  "  The  saint  was  one  day  sailing  from  Amboyna 
to  Baranula,  in  the  Moluccas.  During  a  storm  he  held  his 
crucifix'a  few  inches  below  the  surface  of  the  water.  By  some 
means  or  other  it  slipped  out  of  his  hand  into  the  sea  and  was 
lost.  On  the  following  day  he  reached  Baranula,  and  set  out  for 
the  town  of  Tamalo.  Before  he  had  gone  five  hundred  paces  a 
crab  sprang  out  of  the  sea,  ran  up  to  Xavier  holding  the  crucifix 
in  its  claws,  stood  quietly  before  him  waiting  until  he  had  taken 
the  crucifix,  and  then  went  back  into  the  water."  Although 
the  same  record  attributes  to  him  the  restoration  of  three  corpses, 
nevertheless  in  connection  with  that  case  of  the  three  for  which 
there  is  comparatively  the  best  evidence,  one  of  his  biographers 
places  the  following  words  in  his  mouth  :  "  Holy  Jesus  !  I,  wake 
the  dead  ?  Alas  !  who  am  I  to  perform  such  deeds  ?  They 
brought  a  young  man  to  me  who  was  apparently  dead,  and 
when  I  ordered  him  in  the  name  of  Jesus  to  stand  up,  he  did  so. 
And  that  appeared  to  them   all   to  be  something  wonderful," 


EARLY  MISSIONS  47 

In  Xavier's  letters  there  is  not  the  slightest  mention  of  any  of 
these  legendary  miracles ;  we  are  therefore  fully  justified,  in  the 
cause  of  truth,  in  taking  no  cognisance  of  any  of  them,  we 
are  even  bound  to  do  so. 

This  is  the  more  necessary,  since  it  is  only  after  the  removal 
of  this  artificial  veneer  of  gold  that  we  are  able  to  form  any 
judgment  on  Xavier's  work  as  a  missionary.  The  first  thing 
that  strikes  us  in  connection  with  that  work  is  its  brevity. 
Xavier  landed  at  Goa  in  May  1542,  and  died  on  December  2nd, 
1552,  i.e.  only  ten  years  later,  on  the  island  of  Sanzian,  near 
Canton.  And  in  this  short  decade  he  had  by  no  means  worked 
only  in  India;  his  "pioneer"  labours  in  what  is  now  Dutch 
Further  India,  in  Japan,  and  in  China  were  carried  on  during 
this  same  period.  A  simple  calculation  is  enough  to  show 
that  he  can  only  have  passed  a  comparatively  insignificant 
amount  of  time  in  each  of  these  great  mission  fields.  As  a 
matter  of  fact  his  longest  period  of  consecutive  work  in  India 
was  about  two  years  and  a  half  (May  1542-December  1544), 
and  if  we  include  two  flying  visits  paid  later  on  (January  1548- 
April  1549,  and  January-April  1552),  the  sum  total  of  his  time 
there  comes  at  the  most  to  no  more  than  four  and  a  half  years. 
This  is  without  question  surprisingly  little  for  a  man  whom  it  is 
the  custom  to  call  the  "Apostle  of  India";  it  makes  us  a  trifle 
suspicious  of  this  high-sounding  title.  Our  hesitation  is  increased 
after  a  consideration  of  his  missionary  methods,  concerning 
which  he  expresses  himself  freely  enough  in  his  letters. 

Xavier  never  learnt  the  language  of  any  of  the  lands  he 
visited,  least  of  all  one  of  the  Indian  tongues.  He  carried  on 
his  work  by  means  of  interpreters,  and  helped  himself  out 
of  his  difficulties  by  the  most  defective  methods.  Let  us 
hear  what  he  himself  says  on  the  matter:  "It  is  a  difficult 
situation  to  find  oneself  in  the  midst  of  a  people  of  strange 
language  without  an  interpreter.  Rodriguez  tries,  it  is  true,  to 
act  in  that  capacity,  but  he  understands  very  little  Portuguese. 
So  you  can  imagine  the  life  I  lead  here,  and  what  my  sermons 
are  like,  when  neither  the  people  can  understand  the  interpreter, 
nor  the  interpreter  the  preacher,  to  wit,  myself.  I  ought  to  be  a 
pastmaster  in  the  language  of  dumb  show.  Nevertheless,  I  am 
not  altogether  idle,  for  I  need  no  translator's  help  in  the  baptism 
of  newly-born  children."  In  another  letter  he  continues  :  "As 
they  were  as  unable  to  understand  my  speech  as  I  theirs,  I 
picked  out  from  the  crowd  several  intelligent  and  educated  men 
and  endeavoured  to  find  some  amongst  them  who  understood 
both  languages — Spanish  and  Malabarese  (sic  Tamil).  Then 
we  entered  into  conference  for  several  days,  and  together  trans- 
lated,  though   with   great   difficulty,   the    Catechism    into   the 


48  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

Malabarese  (?  Tamil)  tongue."  How  faulty  this  translation  was 
is  strikingly  illustrated  by  a  complaint  casually  made  by 
Xavier,  that  in  the  Creed  the  Christians  had  learnt  "  I  want"  in 
place  of  "  I  believe,"  and  continued  thoughtlessly  to  repeat  it. 

Christian  ideas  for  the  expression  of  which  no  Tamil  words 
were  immediately  forthcoming  were  simply  denoted  by  the 
Spanish  words — confession  with  "confessio,"  Holy  Spirit  with 
"  Espiritu  Santo,"  etc. — in  any  case,  a  course  of  procedure  not 
making  for  intelligibility.  These  faulty  translations  Francisco 
Xavier  learnt  by  heart,  and  then  by  reciting  them  impressed 
them  upon  the  memories  and  hearts  of  the  people. 

We  may  reasonably  question  whether  with  an  equipment 
of  this  imperfect  nature — an  equipment  of  which  every  present- 
day  missionary  would  be  ashamed — any  more  deeply  spiritual 
missionary  activity  were  possible  to  him.  Xavier  came  as  the 
recognised  friend  and  favourite  of  King  Joao  III.,  had  been 
entrusted  by  him  with  far-reaching  powers,  and  kept  in  constant 
touch  with  him  by  means  of  a  regular  and  intimate  corre- 
spondence. In  addition  to  all  this,  he  arrived  in  India  in  the 
company  of  the  new  Viceroy,  Alfonso  da  Suza.  This  powerful 
royal  protection,  the  possibility  of  ever  setting  in  motion  the 
strong  arm  of  power  for  his  own  ends,  and  the  respect  assured 
to  him  by  this  confidential  position  from  all  Portuguese 
governors  and  officials,  gained  for  him  from  the  very  beginning 
a  unique  position.  For  the  first  five  months  he  resided  in  Goa. 
A  great  institution,  the  College  of  St.  Paul,  was  at  that  time 
being  erected  there  at  the  cost  of  the  State ;  in  this  college 
loo  natives  gathered  from  all  the  Portuguese  settlements  in 
India  were  to  be  instructed  in  the  Christian  faith,  that  later 
on  they  might  return  as  preachers  amongst  their  own  people. 
A  Franciscan,  Jacques  Bourbon,  was  appointed  Principal  of 
the  college.  It  was  one  of  Xavier's  first  endeavours  to  secure 
the  administration  of  this  richly  endowed  institution  for  his  own 
Order.  In  a  few  years'  time  his  powerful  influence  succeeded 
in  accomplishing  this  also  ;  Paul  Camerte,  a  member  of  the 
Society  of  Jesus,  was  created  Director.  With  the  possession 
of  this  institution  the  Jesuits  obtained  their  first  foothold  in 
India;  it  soon  became  the  headquarters  of  their  Indian 
missionary  work. 

Xavier  had  in  the  meantime  turned  his  attention  to  the  far 
south  of  India.  Between  Cape  Comorin  and  Ramnad  there 
lived  the  semi-independent  but  very  low-caste  Paravas,  fishers 
by  trade.  At  this  time  they  were  so  sorely  oppressed  by 
Mohammedan  pirates  that  they  were  forced  to  attempt  to 
defend  themselves  from  their  oppressors  in  a  series  of  sanguinary 
rebellions.     Threatened  at  length  in  their  very  existence,  they 


EARLY  MISSIONS  49 

appealed  to  the  Portuguese  for  help  through  the  mediation 
of  a  wealthy  countryman  of  theirs,  Juan  a  Cruce,  who  had 
embraced  Christianity  and  was  now  living  in  Goa ;  they 
promised  in  return  to  become  Christians,  and  to  acknowledge 
the  sovereignty  of  Portugal.  This  occurred  in  1538,  or  four 
years  before  Xavier  landed.  As  their  85  deputies  allowed 
themselves  to  be  baptized  there  and  then  in  Goa  as  a  proof 
that  they  were  in  earnest  about  conversion  to  Christianity,  a 
fleet  was  sent  to  their  assistance,  and  the  whole  caste  was 
baptized  within  a  few  weeks.  There  are  said  to  have  been 
20,000  of  such  converts.  No  teacher  remained  there  to  in- 
struct them.  Thus  we  have  here  a  characteristic  example  of 
that  remarkable  but  to  all  acquainted  with  the  missionary 
history  of  India,  not  infrequent  phenomenon,  of  an  entire  caste 
or  section  of  a  caste  throwing  itself  into  the  arms  of  Christian 
missions  out  of  motives  of  worldly  policy — in  this  case,  in  order 
to  gain  political  protection.  The  unhealthy  and  all  too  intimate 
relations  with  the  State  in  which  missionary  work  found  itself 
meant  just  this — a  thing  impossible  under  the  English  rule 
of  to-day — that  the  power  of  the  secular  arm  was  at  once 
exercised  on  behalf  of  missionaries,  in  order  that  its  own 
worldly  ends  might  be  attained. 

In  the  midst  of  this  new  movement  Xavier  soon  found 
himself,  and  he  laboured  in  connection  therewith  for  two  whole 
years;  it  is  the  crowning  epoch  of  his  Indian  missionary  work. 
"  He  went  from  village  to  village,  calling  crowds  of  men  and 
boys  together  in  a  fitting  place  for  instruction,  by  means  of 
a  hand-bell.  Within  a  month  the  boys  had  almost  learned  by 
heart  what  he  had  recited  to  them,  and  they  were  then 
enjoined  to  teach  it  to  their  parents,  comrades,  and  neighbours. 
On  Sundays  he  assembled  men  and  women,  boys  and  girls, 
in  a  consecrated  building,  into  which  they  streamed  with  joyful 
zeal.  The  service  simply  consisted  in  his  repeating  once  more, 
very  clearly,  the  aforesaid  passages  ;  they  were  then  repeated 
by  the  congregation,  the  whole  being  interspersed  with  prayers 
offered  at  regular  intervals."  ^  Whether  any  real  understanding 
of  fundamental  Christian  truths  was  thereby  attained,  or  whether 
indeed  Xavier  could  make  what  he  said  sufficiently  com- 
prehensible even  to  the  Christians,  owing  to  his  incompetent 
interpreters,  cannot  now  be  determined.  It  sometimes  happened 
that  a  whole  village  would  be  baptized  in  a  single  day,  and 
thirty  villages  were  soon  reckoned  as  belonging  to  the  Christian 
community. 

In  every  village  there  was  left  a  copy  of  the  above-men- 
tioned Christian  compendium,  and  an  overseer  (Kanakkapillay) 

^  Hoffmann  and  Venn,  Francis  Xavier^  p.  135  et  scq. 
4 


so  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

appointed,  whose  duties  were  to  instruct  the  rest,  to  administer 
baptism  in  cases  of  emergency,  and  above  all  to  repeat  the 
principal  articles  of  belief  in  the  hearing  of  the  people  on 
holy  days. 

These  overseers  received  a  salary  from  the  Portuguese 
Treasury,  Xavier  acted  very  severely  with  regard  to  idol- 
makers  ;  he  had  even  gone  so  far  as  to  obtain  powers  from 
the  King  of  Portugal  entitling  him  to  punish  the  making  of 
idols  with  the  death  penalty.  He  also  threatened  with  fines 
and  imprisonment  those  who  prepared  palm  wine,  and  still 
more  those  who  consumed  it  immoderately.  That  this  pastoral 
activity  was  an  obvious  Christian  duty  amongst  the  tens  of 
thousands  who  were  now  Christians  in  name  goes  without 
saying ;  but  we  cannot  help  a  feeling  of  keen  regret  that  only 
one  single  individual  gave  himself  up  to  it,  that  he  did  not 
understand  one  of  their  languages,  and  that  he  did  not  take 
the  trouble  to  learn  any. 

The  Paravas  were  soon  to  learn  how  advantageous  their 
Christianity  was  to  them,  and  what  a  powerful  protector  they 
possessed  in  Xavier.  Dangerous  quarrels  were  at  that  time 
going  on  in  South  India,  into  which  had  been  drawn  more 
particularly  the  kingdom  of  Madura,  on  the  southern  border  of 
which  the  Fisher  coast  lay.  Wild  bands  of  mercenaries,  the 
so-called  Badagas  ("  Northmen  ")  fell  upon  the  Christian  villages, 
settled  down  amongst  them  in  the  most  cruel  fashion,  dispersed 
the  Christians,  and  caused  them  to  suffer  the  severest  privations. 
As  soon  as  Xavier  heard  of  this,  he  loaded  twenty  cargo-boats 
with  provisions  of  every  description,  and  hastened  to  the  help  of 
the  Christians ;  and  when  contrary  winds  hindered  the  progress 
of  the  boats,  he  strode  forward  for  twenty  hours  over  the  hot 
sand  in  order  to  comfort  and  to  relieve  them.  He  at  once  took 
steps  to  guard  against  similar  disaster  in  the  future.  He 
procured  boats,  in  which  in  case  of  danger  the  Christians 
might  at  once  rescue  both  themselves  and  their  goods ;  he 
established  a  line  of  sentries  to  give  due  warning  of  the  approach 
of  the  Badagas ;  he  even  bought  a  boat  provided  with  cannon 
for  the  defence  of  the  Christian  villages.  In  spite  of  all  his 
precautions,  however,  he  could  not  hinder  the  Badagas  from 
breaking  in  upon  them  the  following  year,  and  driving  even  the 
Portuguese  Governor  of  Tuticorin  into  hasty  flight.  Xavier 
thereupon  dispatched  his  brother  Jesuit  Mansilla  to  the  sorely 
tried  villages  to  console  and  to  assist  the  poor  Christians.  It  is 
no  wonder  that  such  swift  and  potent  helpfulness  soon  won  their 
hearts  both  to  himself  and  to  Christianity. 

It  was  about  this  time  that  Xavier  made  a  journey  through 
Travancore,   which,   however,   can    only   have    been    of   short 


EARLY  MISSIONS  51 

duration.  During  the  journey  he  is  said  to  have  baptized 
10,000  heathens  in  one  month.  This  is  the  only  case  where 
any  actual  figures  are  quoted  in  his  letters,  and  Venn,  his 
Protestant  biographer,  suggests  that  even  these  were  inserted 
by  a  copyist.  In  his  other  letters  Xavier  merely  writes  of  this 
as  being  a  time  when  he  baptized  "very  many"  heathen,  in  fact 
"  all  the  Mochas  (fishermen)  on  the  Travancore  coast  whom  he 
could  possibly  meet  with."  Whether  these  baptisms  C7i  viasse 
were  preceded  by  any  kind  of  instruction  we  cannot  learn ;  the 
only  charge  Xavier  gives  Mansilla  is,  "  Build  schools  in  every 
village,  that  the  children  may  be  taught  daily." 

Xavier's  own  plans,  however,  had  by  this  time  undergone 
considerable  alteration.  In  the  Jaffna  district  of  Ceylon,  which 
lay  just  on  the  other  side  of  the  strait,  disputes  had  arisen 
between  members  of  the  reigning  house.  The  heir  apparent, 
son  of  the  king  of  those  parts,  had  determined  to  become  a 
Christian, — probably  in  the  expectation  that  the  Portuguese 
would  then  render  him  assistance, — but  his  father  the  king  on 
hearing  of  his  project  at  once  had  him  executed. 

Now  in  the  year  1543  the  pearl  fishers  on  the  island  of 
Manar,  who  belonged  to  the  same  caste  as  the  Parava  fisher- 
men on  the  adjacent  mainland,  had  sent  a  deputation  to  Xavier 
begging  him  to  baptize  them  also.  He  had  not  actually  been 
able  to  go  himself,  but  had  sent  another  priest  who  baptized 
them  wholesale.  When  this  came  to  the  ears  of  the  King  of 
Jaffna  he  caused  all  the  converts  to  be  mercilessly  slaughtered 
by  his  own  adherents.  At  the  news  of  such  a  massacre  Xavier 
hastened  to  the  Portuguese  Viceroy,  and  summoned  him  to 
undertake  a  crusade  against  this  persecuting  king.  An  ex- 
cellent plan  was  soon  devised.  An  elder  brother  of  the  King  of 
Jaffna,  who  had  a  good  claim  to  the  throne,  was  now  living  on 
the  mainland  in  order  to  be  safe  from  the  possible  plots  of  his 
brother.  This  claimant  promised  to  become  a  Christian  and  to 
be  baptized  if  the  Portuguese  would  make  him  king  in  his 
brother's  stead.  Xavier  was  full  of  sanguine  hopes ;  he  wrote 
at  the  time  to  Joao  III.:  "In  Jaffna  and  on  the  opposite  coast 
I  shall  easily  gain  100,000  adherents  for  the  Church  of  Christ." 
He  hastened  to  Negapatam  in  1544,  in  order  to  await  there 
the  success  of  the  projected  crusade.  But  something  wholly 
unforeseen  intervened,  and  for  political  reasons  the  entire  crusade 
fell  to  the  ground.  Whereupon  Xavier  altogether  lost  courage, 
determined  to  leave  India,  and  at  the  beginning  of  the  year 
1545  he  proceeded  to  Further  India,  in  order  to  obtain  greater 
and  easier  successes.  And  that  is  practically  the  close  of  his 
work  in  India,  a  work  not  yet  three  years  old. 

It  would  be  of  interest  to  ascertain  what  numerical  results — 


5  2  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

even  if  only  superficial  ones — he  obtained.  We  have  already 
stated  that  they  were  limited  almost  exclusively  to  the  fisher 
castes  resident  on  the  extreme  south  coast  and  on  the  neighbour- 
ing islands,  and  that  these  castes  eagerly  accepted  Christianity, 
because  through  the  influence  of  the  Portuguese  or  of  Xavier 
they  were  protected  from  powerful  enemies,  and  their  possession 
of  important  material  advantages,  such  as  the  monopoly  of  the 
pearl  fishery,  was  assured.  There  does  not  appear  to  have  been 
any  question  of  religious  motives  in  the  matter  from  beginning 
to  end.  The  numerical  returns  of  those  baptized  by  Xavier  or 
during  the  time  he  was  in  India  differ  very  widely.  Padre 
Brandonius,  a  well  informed  writer,  sets  them  at  merely  12,000 
in  1554.  Padre  Caspar,  General  Superintendent  of  the  Jesuits' 
Indian  Missions,  estimates  them  at  60,000  in  1553,  whilst 
Padre  P.  L.  Frois  in  1560  speaks  of  80,000.  When  the  Jesuit, 
A.  Quadras,  on  his  arrival  in  India  in  1555,  speaks  of  Xavier's 
300,000  Christians,  he  is  clearly  writing  from  hearsay  ;  and  when 
Xavier's  biographer  Acosta,  in  1570,  also  computes  the  number 
of  Indian  Christians  as  300,000,  he  expressly  includes  Goa, 
where  there  were  of  course  many  Christians,  and  the  Syrian 
Christians  of  Cochin.  Caspar  is  probably  nearest  the  truth,  but 
from  his  estimate  a  round  20,000  must  be  subtracted ;  those  had 
already  been  baptized  when  Xavier  entered  the  field. 

Xavier  himself  was  wholly  dissatisfied  with  this  result  of  his 
labours ;  but  he  doubted  whether  greater  success  were  possible 
in  India.  In  a  letter  to  Ignacio  Loyola  in  January  1549,  he 
writes:  "The  natives  (of  India)  are  so  terribly  wicked  that  they 
can  never  be  expected  to  embrace  Christianity.  It  is  so  re- 
pellent to  them  in  every  way  that  they  have  not  even  patience 
to  listen  when  we  address  them  on  the  subject ;  in  fact,  one 
might  just  as  well  invite  them  to  allow  themselves  to  be  put  to 
death  as  to  become  Christians.  We  must  now  therefore  limit 
ourselves  to  retaining  those  who  are  already  Christians  "  (Hoff- 
mann and  Venn,  p.  202).  It  was  because  of  this  disappointment 
and  doubt  as  to  the  power  of  simple  preaching  that  there 
developed  in  Xavier's  ceaselessly  active  brain — at  this  time 
intoxicated  by  his  constant  intercourse  with  the  ruling  classes — 
the  reckless  plan  of  shifting  the  entire  work  of  converting  the 
heathen  from  the  shoulders  of  the  missionaries  to  those  of  the 
functionaries,  viceroys,  and  governors. 

The  letter  written  in  the  year  1545,  in  which  Xavier  sketches 
this  plan  to  King  Joao  III.,  is  one  of  the  most  forcible  and 
remarkable  he  ever  wrote.  In  it  he  says  :  "  I  have  discovered 
a  unique,  but  as  I  assuredly  believe,  a  sure  means  of  improving 
this  evil  state  of  things,  a  means  by  which  the  number  of 
Christians    in   this   land    may   without   doubt   be    greatly   in- 


EARLY  MISSIONS  53 

creased.     It  consists  in   your    Majesty  declaring,  clearly   and 
decidedly,  that  you  entrust  your  principal  concern,  to  wit,  the 
propagation  of  our  most  holy  faith,  to  the  Viceroy  and  to  all 
the  Deputy  Governors  in  India,  rather  than  to  all  the  clergy 
and  priests.  .  .  .  To  avoid  all  misunderstanding,  your  Majesty 
would  do  well  to  indicate  by  name  all    those  of  us   who  are 
working  in  India,  and  to  explain  in  this  connection  that  your 
Majesty  does  not  lay  the  responsibility  on  one  or  on  a  few  or 
on  all  of  us  .  .  .  but   that  the   dissemination    of  Christianity 
shall    in    every   case   depend    entirely   upon    the    Viceroy   or 
Governor.     It  is  your  Majesty's  highest  duty  and  privilege  to 
care  for  the  salvation  of  the  souls  of  your  subjects,  and  this 
duty  can    only  be  devolved  upon  such   persons   as    are   your 
Majesty's  actual    representatives    and    who  enjoy  the  prestige 
and  respect  ever  accorded  to  those  in  authority.  .  .  .  Let  your 
Majesty   therefore  demand   reports  from    the  Viceroy   or   the 
Governors  concerning  the  numbers  and  quality  of  those  heathen 
who  have  been  converted,  and  concerning  the  prospects  of  and 
means  adopted  for  increasing  the  number  of  converts.  ...  At 
the  appointment  of  every  high  official  to  the  government  of  any 
town  or  province,  your   Majesty's  royal  word  should  be  most 
solemnly  pledged  to  the  effect  that  if  in  that  particular  town 
or  province  the  number  of  native   Christians  were   not    con- 
siderably  increased,   its   ruler   would    meet   with  the   severest 
punishment ;  for  it  is  evident  that  there  would  be  a  far  greater 
number  of  converts,  if  only  the   officials  earnestly  desired    it. 
Yea,  I  demand  that  your  Majesty  shall  swear  a  solemn  oath 
affirming  that  every  Governor  who  shall  neglect  to  disseminate 
the  knowledge  of  our  most  holy  faith  shall  be  punished  on  his 
return  to  Portugal  by  a   long  term  of  imprisonment  and    by 
confiscation  of  his  goods,  which  shall  then  be  disposed  of  for 
charitable  ends.  ...   I   will  content  myself  with  assuring  you 
that  if  every  Viceroy  or  Governor  were  convinced  of  the  full 
seriousness  of  such  an  oath,  the  whole  of  Ceylon,  many  kings 
on    the  Malabar  coast,  and  the  whole   of  the   Cape   Comorin 
district   would    embrace  Christianity  within  a  year.     As  long, 
however,  as  the  Viceroys  and  Governors  are  not  forced  by  fear 
of  disfavour  to  gain  adherents  to  Christianity,  your  Majesty  need 
not  expect  that  any  considerable  success  will  attend  the  preaching 
of  the  gospel  in  India,  or  that  many  baptisms  will  take  place." 

It  was  a  kind  of  echo  to  such  letters  as  the  foregoing  when 
the  king  addressed  the  following  decree  to  his  Indian  Viceroy : — 
"  My  dear  Viceroy, — That  most  essential  duty(of  a  Christian 
prince,  namely,  attention  to  the  interests  of  religion  and  the 
employment  of  one's  entire  influence  in  maintaining  the 
Catholic  faith,  moves  us  to  issue  the  following  order :  That  all 


54  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

idols  shall  be  sought  out  and  destroyed,  and  severe  penalties 
shall  be  laid  upon  all  such  as  shall  dare  to  make  an  idol  .  .  . 
or  shall  shelter  or  hide  a  Brahman."  Later  on  in  the  same 
letter  the  king  commands  that  thorough  financial  and  material 
aid  shall  be  afforded  to  the  Christians,  they  are  to  be  secured 
against  all  compulsory  service  and  oppression,  special  favour 
is  to  be  shown  them  in  the  filling  of  appointments,  etc.,  "  in 
order  that  the  natives  may  be  inclined  to  submit  themselves  to 
the  yoke  of  Christianity,"  In  this  cry  for  State  assistance  we 
can  only  discern  a  sorry  example  of  the  distortion  and  per- 
version of  the  missionary  ideal,  and  it  is  grievous  to  think  of 
even  a  Xavier  being  so  shortsighted  and  so  far  from  the  real 
spirit  of  the  gospel.  He  was  the  founder  of  Jesuit  missions, 
which  have  been  only  too  frequently  and  too  extensively  carried 
on  in  this  spirit. 

Xavier  returned  to  India   in  January  1548,  and    remained 
for    another    fifteen    months    there,    until    April     1549;    this 
time,  however,  it  was  not  to  resume  his  simple  mission  work, 
but   to   govern   with    unlimited    authority   the   vast   company 
of  Jesuit  missionaries  who  had    been  sent  out  after  him.     In 
1542,  when  he  first  landed  in  India,  two  brethren  only  of  the 
Order,   Paul    Camerte   and    Mansilla,   had    accompanied   him. 
But  Joao  III.  and  the  Order  saw  to  it  that  there  was  no  lack 
of  reinforcements.     In    the  year  1540,  Xavier's  friend,  Simon 
Rodriguez,  had   been    appointed   Principal   of  the  College   at 
Coimbra  in  which  one  hundred,  and  afterwards  two  hundred 
Jesuits  were  educated.     This  institution  was  for  a  long  time 
the   main   recruiting-ground   of  the  Order  of  the   Jesuits   for 
the  Indian    mission  field.     As   early  as    1548    Xavier   had    to 
supervise  over  twenty  Jesuit  missionaries,  and  it  soon  became 
evident  that  he  possessed  extraordinary  powers  as  a  ruler  of 
men.     Besides  innumerable  long  letters  to  King  Joao  and  his 
friends,  both  in  Europe  and  in  India,  there  are  still  extant  five 
very  ample  charges  of  his,  and  also  a  Guide  to  the  Christian 
Life,  which  has   been  translated    into  many  languages.      The 
charges  bear  frequent  witness  to  his  great  wisdom  and  to  his 
profound  knowledge  of  the  human  heart.     But  if  we  come  to 
them   seeking   guidance   about   right   methods  of  carrying  on 
missionary  work  amongst  the  heathen  population  of  the  country, 
we  shall  be  disappointed.     Xavier's  object  in  composing  them 
was  rather  to  place  his  own  Order  in  possession  of  the  entire 
Indian  mission  field  and  to  oust  all  other  Orders  he  had  found 
on   the  ground   at  his  arrival,  and    more  especially  the  Fran- 
ciscans.    We  have   already   mentioned   the  fact   that   he   had 
obtained  supreme  control  of  the  great  College  of  St.  Paul  at 
Goa  for  the  Jesuits ;  he  attempted  to  do   the   same   with   the 


EARLY  MISSIONS  55 

Franciscan  College  at  Kranganur,  in  Cochin ;  and  his  efforts 
were  crowned  with  the  accustomed  success.  And  for  the  rest, 
he  stationed  the  brethren  in  the  Order,  who  were  to  a  man  under 
his  direction  and  pledged  to  unconditional  obedience,  in  all  the 
great  centres  of  the  Portuguese  dominion,  so  that  they  might 
ever  be  to  the  fore  and  might  gain  influence  in  every  direction. 
During  the  last  years  of  his  short  life,  however,  his  interests 
were  so  largely  confined  to  the  Far  East  that  the  work  in  India 
was  left  for  the  most  part  in  the  hands  of  his  colleagues, 
Camerte  and  Antonio  Gomez.  But  they  did  not  stand  the 
test.  When  in  the  spring  of  1552,  Xavier  returned  once  more 
to  India  for  a  few  months,  he  found  his  hands  at  once  full : 
there  were  quarrels  to  pacify,  unworthy  members  of  the  Order 
to  be  expelled,  men  who  had  proved  themselves  unequal  to  their 
appointed  tasks  to  replace — in  short,  an  entire  revolution  had 
to  be  undertaken.  The  writing  of  numerous  letters  by  means 
of  which  he  endeavoured  to  establish  a  new  order  of  things 
was  the  last  service  he  rendered  to  the  cause  of  Indian  missions. 
On  December  2nd  of  that  same  year,  he  died  on  the  island  of 
Sanzian,  within  sight  of  the  Chinese  coast.  His  body  was 
buried  with  magnificent  pomp  at  Goa  in  1554,  and  it  is  to  day 
one  of  the  most  valuable  relics  of  Roman  Catholic  India. 
Francisco  Xavier  was  beatified  in  161 9  by  Pope  Paul  v.,  and 
canonised  in  1622  by  Pope  Gregory  XV.  He  has  become  one 
of  the  favourite  saints,  not  only  of  the  Order  of  the  Jesuits,  but 
of  the  whole  Romish  Church. 

(c)  The  Second  Half  of  the  Sixteenth  Century 

The  missionary  activity  of  the  Roman  Catholics  during  the 
second  half  of  the  sixteenth  century  was  almost  entirely  along 
the  lines  which  Xavier  had  marked  out.  Like  most  men  of 
commanding  genius,  he  unites  in  himself  the  best  thought  and 
aspirations  of  his  age,  as  is  seen  by  the  fact  that  whilst  the 
missionary  work  of  the  Romish  Church  during  the  half-century 
following  his  death  affected  a  very  much  larger  area,  it  never- 
theless took  scarcely  one  single  step  forward  as  regards  inward 
development,  grasp  of  missionary  problems,  or  understanding  ot 
missionary  methods.  That  missionary  enterprise  everywhere 
accompanies  the  Portuguese  temporal  power  is  characteristic  of 
the  time.  Missionary  work  in  this  period  is  merely  one  amongst 
a  number  of  efforts  put  forth  by  the  State  for  the  government  of 
the  Indian  colonies;  and  in  return  the  State  is  ready  and  willing 
to  place  its  strong  arm  at  the  disposal  of  the  missionaries  to 
assist  them  in  the  discharge  of  their  religious  task.  What  the 
missionary  party  desired  found  its  classical  expression  in  the 


56  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

Junta  assembled  in  1579  at  Goa  by  the  Viceroy  of  India  at  the 
instance  of  the  Portuguese  sovereign,  and  which  was  composed 
of  clergy  under  the  presidency  of  the  Archbishop.  The  question 
it  had  to  decide  was  whether  the  natives  in  the  Portuguese 
colonies  in  India  were  to  be  allowed  liberty  in  religious 
observance.  Its  answer  was  "  No,"  and  thus  it  was  admitted 
that  the  carrying  on  of  the  Christianising  process  in  the 
Portuguese  possessions  was  the  common  duty  of  the  State  and 
of  the  Church.  The  most  rapid  and  most  thorough  progress 
was  made  in  Goa,  the  main  seat  of  Portuguese  authority,  and 
the  base  of  all  its  colonial  projects.  As  early  as  15 10,  when  the 
Portuguese  entered  into  possession  of  the  town  and  island, 
efforts  had  been  made  to  create  artificially  a  strong  resident 
Christian  population  ;  even  in  1546,  King  Joao  III.  had  forbidden 
"  servants  of  Brahma  "  all  public  exercise  of  their  religion,  and 
had  commanded  the  destruction  of  idols.  But  in  view  of  the 
still  unstable  condition  of  the  Portuguese  dominion,  and  perhaps 
for  other  reasons,  the  viceroys  had  always  hesitated  to  use 
force  in  the  suppression  of  heathenism.  After  1554  the  Jesuits 
made  it  their  especial  task  to  Christianise  Goa  and  its  immediate 
neighbourhood.  In  1557  they  obtained  from  the  Viceroy  an 
ordinance  whereby  all  the  lower  official  positions  in  the 
Portuguese  service  were  reserved  for  native  Christians,  who 
were  also  to  be  favoured  in  many  other  ways.  Especially  were 
all  ceremonies  connected  with  baptism  to  be  observed  in  the 
future  with  great  pomp,  and  in  the  presence  of  the  highest 
officials  in  State  and  Church.  By  every  means  possible  it  was 
to  be  brought  home  to  those  caste-bound  Indians  that  the  sole 
means  of  social  advancement  was  to  accept  the  "  Prangui 
Koulam,"  or  religion  of  the  Franks.^  Prangui,  an  Indian 
mispronunciation  of  Frank,  i.e.  Portuguese,  became  both  in 
Western  and  in  Southern  India  the  general  appellation  for  the 
native  Christians,  as  well  as  for  the  ruling  Portuguese.  In  such 
hosts  did  the  heathen  in  and  around  Goa  now  range  themselves 
on  the  side  of  Christianity,  that  in  the  year  1560  alone,  at 
twenty-seven  brilliant  baptismal  ceremonies,  12,967  natives 
were  baptized.  As  early  as  1563 — that  is,  barely  ten  years  after 
the  Jesuits  had  made  a  serious  commencement  of  their  labours — 
an  order  was  received  from  King  Sebastiao  of  Portugal,  that  all 
"  stiff-necked  heathen "  were  to  be  banished  from  the  Goa 
territory.  In  the  last  decades  of  the  century  the  Christianising 
process  had  in  the  main  been  completed  in  this  district,  only  a 
few  hundreds  being  baptized  every  year. 

^  The  question  in  the  Catechism,  "Dost  thou  desire  to  become  a  Christian?" 
was  then  worded:  "Wilt  thou  enter  the  caste  of  the  Prangui?"  "To  live  the 
Christian  life"  was  termed  "  to  live  according  to  the  manner  of  the  Prangui." 


EARLY  MISSIONS  57 

This  same  process  did  not  go  on  so  smoothly  at  Salsette,  a 
peninsula  stretching  out  some  two  or  three  miles  south  of  Goa 
(not  to  be  confused  with  the  island  of  the  same  name  near 
Bombay).  In  this  district,  the  population  of  which  at  that  time 
numbered  80,000  souls,  all  missionary  efforts  up  to  the  year 
1560  had  been  well-nigh  in  vain — the  people  clung  tenaciously 
to  heathenism.  Then  the  Jesuits  took  up  the  work.  In  1567 
they  persuaded  the  Viceroy  to  issue  a  decree  ordering  that  "  in 
those  districts  of  Goa  which  yet  remain  heathen,  the  pagodas 
and  mosques  shall  be  pulled  down,  and  orphans  under  fourteen 
years  of  age  shall  be  baptized."  Immediately  the  Jesuit, 
Ludwig  Goes,  set  to  work,  with  the  help  of  the  royal  deputies 
and  of  Portuguese  troops,  to  destroy  280  large  pagodas 
and  mosques  and  countless  smaller  ones.  But  he  raised 
thereby  such  grim  hatred  of  the  Jesuits  that  their  lives  were 
frequently  in  danger;  in  1583  a  large  number  of  them  were  put 
to  death,  along  with  their  escort,  by  the  irritated  heathen 
populace.  Still,  Goa  lay  so  near  at  hand  that  the  propaganda 
of  the  Jesuit  fathers  was  able  to  benefit  by  the  authority  of  the 
ruling  power,  and  every  attempted  rebellion  could  be  easily 
suppressed.  In  these  circumstances  "  conversions "  abounded. 
In  1596  there  were  already  about  35,000  Christians  on  Salsette. 
The  Brahmans  and  other  high  castes  had  migrated  to  the 
adjoining  kingdom  of  Bijapur.  Amongst  the  lower  classes  that 
remained  the  work  of  Christianisation  went  on  practically  without 
opposition.  The  peninsula  was  divided  into  livings,  and  the  Jesuits 
as  pastors  ruled  both  parish  and  community  with  a  strong  hand. 

The  province  of  Goa,  which  to-day  comprises  only  sixty-five 
square  miles  of  territory,  is  unique  in  India  in  the  impression  it 
makes  on  a  visitor  as  being  a  Catholic  and  Christian  country. 
"  The  Roman  Catholic  character  of  the  country  comes  upon  one 
with  most  surprising  effect  in  the  midst  of  these  heathen  districts. 
On  every  station  platform  one  sees  dark-robed  monks  and 
priests.  On  every  hillside  there  is  a  chapel,  and  scattered  up 
and  down  the  fields  and  lanes  are  crucifixes  and  images  of  the 
Virgin.  In  the  larger  towns  and  cities  stately  churches  rear 
their  spires  heavenward.  Everywhere  one  encounters  people 
wearing  rosaries  and  crucifixes  on  their  breasts "  {Basle  Miss. 
Mag.,  1904,  p.  464).  It  is  estimated  that  at  the  present  time 
two-thirds  of  the  494,836  inhabitants,  i.e.  about  340,000,  are 
Roman  Catholics.  The  missionary  operations  in  Goa  and  its 
neighbourhood  are  typical  of  the  methods  of  the  Jesuits  during 
this  period.  They  acted  in  precisely  similar  fashion  in  the 
other  Portuguese  colonies  along  the  Indian  coast:  Bassein, 
Shaul,  Daman,  and  Diu,  to  the  north  of  Goa ;  at  Cochin  and 
along  the  coast  stretching  therefrom  to  the  south,  the  Fisher 


58  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

coast  on  the  hither  and  the  farther  side  of  Cape  Comorin, 
where  Xavier  had  previously  laboured  ;  at  Negapatam,  Milapur, 
in  the  Ganges  Delta  and  in  Arakan.  But  although  the  Jesuits 
both  as  regards  numbers,  influence,  and  training  easily  took  up 
the  commanding  position,  there  were  to  be  seen  almost  every- 
where in  addition  the  monasteries,  churches,  and  schools  of  the 
Franciscans,  the  Dominicans,  and,  after  i572,of  the  Augustinians. 
As  far  as  the  Portuguese  influence  extended,  so  far  the  wide- 
meshed  net  of  missionary  enterprise  was  outspread — though  it 
must  be  granted  that,  a  few  unimportant  exceptions  being  made, 
it  stretched  only  so  far. 

We  know  neither  the  number  of  missionaries  in  the  field 
nor  the  number  of  native  Christians  at  the  close  of  the  sixteenth 
century.  But  if  the  Jesuits  alone  had  about  300  Indian 
missionaries  in  1 590,  we  may  safely  compute  the  number 
of  missionaries  of  all  the  other  Orders  at  200;  that 
gives  in  round  numbers  500  Roman  Catholic  mission- 
aries in  India,  or  about  the  same  number  as  there  were  of 
Protestant  missionaries  in  1870  (the  former,  however,  having 
been  ninety  years  on  the  ground,  the  latter  only  eighty).  As 
a  result  of  their  work  up  to  1590,  we  may  reckon  about  60,000 
native  Christians  in  Goa  and  the  neighbourhood,  35,000  on 
the  peninsula  of  Salsette,  110,000  on  the  Fisher  coast  from 
Tuticorin  to  Cape  Comorin  (the  numbers  given  for  1610  vary 
between  130,000  and  90,000),  14,000  between  Cochin  and 
Quilon,  and  15,000  in  Travancore,  south  of  Ouilon,  —  these 
are  the  greater  and  more  compact  masses  of  native  Christians. 
(We  take  no  account  here  of  the  Syrian  Church  of  "  Thomas  " 
Christians,  which  joined  hands  with  Rome  in  1599.)  In  the 
absence  of  reliable  statistics  we  may  estimate  the  numerous 
smaller  missions  from  Ormuz  and  the  island  of  Diu  in  the 
north-west,  and  along  the  Indian  coast  as  far  as  Pegu,  at  20,000 
— a  figure  probably  rather  under  the  mark  than  over  it.  Thus 
the  sum  total  of  the  successes  gained  by  the  first  century  of 
Portuguese  missions  was  a  Christian  community  of  some 
254,000  souls  (as  against  224,258  Protestants  in  1871,  with 
approximately  the  same  number  of  workers  and  after  eighty 
years'  labour).^ 

(d )  Robert  de  Nobili 

A  fresh  impulse  was  given  to  Indian,  and  especially  to  Jesuit, 
missionary  work  by  the  appearance  of  Robert  de  Nobili  in  1605. 

^  We  must  make  due  allowance,  however,  for  the  fact  that  the  whole  power  of  the 
Portuguese  Government  was  at  the  beck  and  call  of  the  Roman  Catholic  missionaries, 
whereas  the  Protestant  mission  gained  its  footing  in  face  of  constant  opposition  on 
the  part  of  Anglo-Indian  authorities. 


EARLY  MISSIONS  59 

Born  in  Rome  of  a  distinguished  branch  of  the  Italian  nobility, 
a  nephew  of  the  famous  Cardinal  Bellarmine  and  nearly  related 
to  Pope  Marcellus  II.,  this  brilliantly  gifted,  highly  educated,  and 
zealous  man  had  voluntarily  sacrificed  all  his  prospects  in  the 
home  country  in  order  to  adopt  the  self-denying  calling  of  a 
simple  missionary  in  far-away  India.  Even  there  he  never 
sought  high  honour ;  his  heart  burned  only  with  the  one  desire 
to  convert  as  many  Hindus  as  possible  to  Christianity.  Now, 
many  of  the  Parava  Christians  who  had  been  evangelised  on 
the  Fisher  coast  by  Francisco  Xavier  and  his  successors  had 
migrated  to  the  city  of  Madura,  at  that  time  one  of  the  most 
famous  centres  of  South  Indian  culture  and  learning  and  the 
imposing  capital  of  the  pomp-loving  Nayak  kings.  A  Jesuit, 
Fernandes  by  name,  a  pious  and  zealous  but  not  particularly 
cultured  person,  had  been  sent  thither  to  minister  to  them. 
The  Parava  Christians  were  set  little  store  by  in  Madura,  both 
on  account  of  their  despised  origin  and  their  lack  of  learning, 
and  the  little  band  had  no  influence  whatever  upon  the  heathens 
by  whom  they  were  surrounded.  All  the  efforts  of  Fernandes 
to  influence  or  to  win  the  attention  of  a  wider  circle  than  the 
Fisher  Christians  proved  in  vain.  It  was  in  the  year  1606  that 
Nobili  was  appointed  to  work  as  colleague  to  the  lonely 
Fernandes.  He  had  only  been  a  few  weeks  in  Madura  when 
he  matured  great  and  far-reaching  plans  for  missionary  activity, 
plans  which  he  had  already  mapped  out  at  an  earlier  period. 

Hitherto,  as  we  have  already  seen,  missionary  work  and  the 
authority  of  the  State  had  gone  hand  in  hand.  In  the  main, 
Portuguese  colonies  only  had  formed  the  starting-point  for,  and 
become  the  centres  of,  missionary  operations ;  these  latter  had 
been  carried  out  with  the  hall-mark  of  royal  decrees  and 
Portuguese  banners  writ  large  upon  them ;  the  Christians  had 
entered  the  "  Prangui  Caste,"  i.e.  that  of  the  Franks '  or 
Portuguese.  It  was  self-evident  that  such  missions  were  only 
possible  in  places  where  their  promoters  were  within  reach  of 
the  military  or  political  power  of  Portugal.  This,  however,  was 
only  possible  in  reality  in  a  very  minute  portion  of  India,  only 
along  parts  of  the  coast.  In  this  city  of  Madura,  the  metro- 
polis of  one  of  the  ancient  empires  of  South  India,  situated  in 
the  very  midst  of  the  main  current  of  Indian  civilisation,  Nobili 
found  himself  confronted  with  the  great  and  crucial  missionary 
problem,  "  How  can  Christianity  be  brought  within  the  reach 
of  the  people  of  India  independent  of  efforts  after  territorial 
aggrandisement  ?  How  can  it  be  so  presented  to  them  as  that 
they  may  be  in  a  position  to  examine  it  objectively  and  to 
accept  it  for  its  own  sake?"  He  arrived  at  the  theoretically 
correct  answer,  "  The  missionary  must   be,  as    Paul   said,  an 


6o  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

Indian  to  the  Indians,"  and  he  determined  to  follow  up  this 
path  in  both  directions :  on  the  one  hand,  he  would  sever  all 
connection  with  the  Portuguese  ;  on  the  other,  in  all  the  con- 
cerns of  his  life  he  would  endeavour  to  appear  purely  and 
simply  a  native  of  India.  In  determining  on  this  second  step, 
two  facts  were  patent  to  him  from  the  very  outset :  Christianity 
could  only  be  brought  within  the  reach  of  the  Hindus  by 
imitating  the  outward  method  by  which  they  were  accustomed 
to  receive  religious  truth,  i.e.  by  the  person  recommending  it 
himself  appearing  in  the  guise  of  a  Brahman ;  and  further,  he 
could  only  hope  to  win  people  of  the  upper  classes,  of  the  higher 
castes,  by  leaving  the  whole  caste  system  unassailed  and  un- 
touched. Of  course  his  premise  here  is  that  the  Indian  caste 
system  is  simply  a  semi-political,  semi-social  institution,  to  a 
large  extent  independent  of  religion,  though  certain  of  its  sub- 
ordinate features  may  be  of  a  religious  nature.  This  conception 
of  caste  was  to  Nobili  a  question  of  principle;  and,  so  far  as  we 
know,  neither  at  this  time  nor  in  the  subsequent  "  accommoda- 
tion "  conflicts  was  such  a  conception  opposed.  At  the  present 
stage  of  Indian  research  we  can  only  characterise  this  con- 
ception of  caste  (which  lay  at  the  base  of  Nobili's  whole  system) 
as  at  the  very  least  one-sided,  and  especially  so  as  far  as  it 
relates  to  the  caste  of  the  Brahmans.  But  we  can  well  push 
that  matter  to  one  side  in  order  to  sketch  very  briefly  the 
development  of  Nobili's  system. 

Nobili  withdrew  himself  from  his  colleague  Fernandes, 
procured  himself  a  private  house  in  another  district  of  Madura, 
and  fitted  it  up  so  as  to  resemble  in  its  minutest  details  the 
house  of  a  Brahman.  He  donned  the  light  yellow  robe  of  a 
Sannyasi  (penitent)  Brahman,  engaged  Brahmans  as  his  servants, 
and  confined  his  menu  to  the  vegetarian  diet  of  the  Brahmans. 
He  shrouded  himself  in  mystery,  as  many  of  them  love  to  do, 
seldom  appeared  in  public,  and  only  allowed  visitors  of  the 
highest  castes,  and  Brahmans  in  particular,  to  have  access  to 
him.  He  adopted  exclusively  the  Indian  custom  of  carrying 
on  conversation  by  means  of  learned  disputations,  and  sought 
to  commend  Christianity  as  the  highest  philosophy  to  the 
Hindus,  so  long  trained  in  all  the  finesse  of  hair-splitting 
dialectics.  Those  who  associated  themselves  with  him  as 
disciples,  he  tried  by  means  of  a  thirty  or  forty  days'  course  to 
lead  to  a  fuller  knowledge  of  Christianity — again  chiefly  by 
disputation ;  he  would  then  baptize  them,  though  he  accounted 
baptism  as  by  no  means  implying  a  breaking  with  caste.  The 
view  now  everywhere  prevalent  in  India,  that  baptism  in  itself 
constitutes  the  breaking  of  caste,  inevitably  resulting  in  exclu- 
sion from  heathen  caste  circles,  had  not  yet  come  into  existence. 


EARLY  MISSIONS  6i 

On  the  contrary,  those  who  were  baptized  maintained  all  the 
forms  and  ceremonies  of  their  old  caste;  they  continued  to 
wear  the  sacred  thread,  which  Nobili  himself  now  did,  the  only 
difference  being  that  the  Christian  "  sacred  thread  "  consisted  of 
three  golden  strands,  symbolic  of  the  Holy  Trinity,  and  two 
silver  ones,  typifying  the  human  and  divine  nature  of  Christ. 
But  the  uninitiated  could  not  perceive  the  difference,  and  cases 
were  not  unknown  in  which  Christians  wore  threads  consecrated 
by  heathen  Brahmans.  The  Christians  too,  like  the  heathen, 
bore  the  caste  mark  on  their  forehead  ;  they  simply  did  not 
employ  cow-dung  ashes  as  the  natives  did,  but  used  instead 
ashes  of  sandalwood  over  which  a  prescribed  form  of  consecra- 
tion had  been  spoken  :  Nobili  too  had  one  of  these  sandal- 
wood signs  painted  on  his  forehead.  A  special  church  was 
erected  for  his  converts,  and  they  were  organised  into  a  self- 
contained  community  which  had  no  dealings  whatever  with  the 
older  church  of  the  Parava  Christians.  Nobili  allowed  caste 
differences  to  exist  in  all  their  rigour  between  church  members 
of  a  higher  and  a  lower  caste,  even  to  the  extent  of  counte- 
nancing the  idea  that  contact  between  a  Parava  Christian  and 
a  Brahman  Christian  rendered  the  latter  unclean.  He  called 
himself  a  Rajah  from  Rome,  a  Guru  or  Teacher  of  Religion, 
a  Sannyasi  or  Penitent,  and  from  1611  onwards,  a  Brahman  to 
boot.  He  claimed  to  be  the  bringer  of  a  fourth  and  lost  Veda, 
which  he  termed  the  spiritual  law ;  this  alone  could  impart 
eternal  life.  Its  contents  were  partly  interspersed  among  those 
of  the  three  other  Vedas  ;  to  a  very  great  extent,  however,  they 
had  been  up  to  the  present  wholly  lost ;  this  lost  Veda  he  now 
restored  to  the  Hindus.  To  support  this  fiction  he  acquired 
with  astounding  industry  a  knowledge  not  only  of  Tamil  and 
Telugu,  the  two  languages  principally  spoken  in  Madura,  but 
also  of  Sanskrit.  Nobili  was  the  first  European  to  thoroughly 
master  this  difficult  language,  and  he  even  came  to  use  it  with 
a  certain  degree  of  elegance.  At  the  same  time  he  made  a 
profound  study  of  the  sacred  and  philosophical  literature  of 
India,  and  with  great  skill  and  a  most  enviable  tenacity  of 
memory  he  was  able  to  pick  out  and  ever  hold  in  readiness  for 
immediate  use  all  such  passages  as  served  to  strengthen  his 
bold  position.  The  study  of  Sanskrit  and  the  ancient  literature 
of  the  country  were  at  that  time  wholly  neglected,  and  the 
Brahmans  themselves  were  not  innocent  of  gross  forgeries.  All 
this  gave  such  an  able  and  shrewd  individual  as  Nobili  his 
chance — and  he  seized  it. 

Despite,  however,  all  the  learning  and  sagacity  of  Nobili,  we 
are  none  the  less  compelled  to  admit  that  his  system  contained 
very  serious  flaws.    His  fiction  that  he  was  a  Brahman  from  the 


62  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

West  may  be  criticised  much  in  the  same  way  as  the  attempt 
of  some  Protestant  evangeHst  who,  disguised  as  a  mendicant 
friar,  and  flinging  about  him  learned  scraps  from  patristic 
Hterature,  should  carry  on  a  Protestant  propaganda  in  the 
monasteries  of  Southern  Italy,  whilst  proclaiming  himself  all 
the  time  a  firm  friend  and  a  representative  of  the  Pope.  Ac- 
cording to  Indian  ideas,  a  Brahman  is  born  a  Brahman  ;  his 
nobility  is  a  hereditary  nobility.  A  "  Roman  Brahman  "  is  a 
contradiction  in  terms,  a  plain  deception,  and  all  the  more  so 
because  Nobili  sought  to  disguise  the  fact  that  he  was  of 
European  descent.  He  had  only  himself  to  blame  when  the 
suspicious  heresy-hunters  amongst  the  Brahmans  industriously 
wormed  out  the  knowledge  of  his  relations  with  the  Portuguese 
ecclesiastic  and  civil  authorities  on  the  West  Coast  of  India,  and 
triumphantly  declared  that,  after  all,  he  was  a  Prangui,  a 
European,  and  that  there  was  no  reason  in  the  world  to  conceal 
his  intimate  connection  with  Padre  Fernandes  and  the  rest  of 
the  Portuguese.  The  division  of  the  Church  at  Madura,  with  its 
two  separate  places  of  worship  and  the  entire  separation  of  the 
two  congregations,  was  bound  to  create  a  painful  impression 
throughout  Christendom :  it  was  too  great  a  contrast  to  the 
fundamental  Christian  doctrine  of  brotherly  love.  We  cannot 
blame  the  Parava  Christians  for  receiving  their  degradation  to 
Christians  of  the  second  rank  somewhat  mutinously,  and  for 
actively  protesting  against  it  both  to  the  heathen  and  to  the 
ecclesiastical  authorities. 

Mullbauer,  a  Roman  Catholic  historian,  passes  judgment 
on  this  separation  of  the  two  Churches  in  the  following  words  : 
"  The  thoughtful  student  will  not  fail  to  observe  the  contra- 
diction in  the  retention  of  caste  to  the  all-reconciling  love  of 
Christianity ;  for  Christian  concord  cannot  but  be  broken  when 
a  Christian  Brahman  deems  himself  unclean  through  his  having, 
in  the  same  church  and  at  the  same  holy  board,  knelt  side  by 
side  with  a  Pariah,  and  with  him  received,  under  the  form  of 
bread,  his  Saviour — to  Whom  no  respect  of  persons  is  known. 
We  are  asked  to  defend  such  a  state  of  things  both  on  the 
ground  of  the  example  of  the  Apostles  and  on  that  of  the 
practice  of  the  Church,  but  unjustly.  .  .  .  Nobody  will  ever  be 
able  to  prove  that  Jewish  and  Gentile  Christians  had  separate 
churches,  and  it  might  rightly  be  condemned  as  a  relapse  into 
Pharisaism  had  a  Jewish  Christian  considered  himself  defiled 
by  receiving  the  Sacrament  at  the  hands  of  an  elder  who  visited 
a  Gentile  Christian,  to  say  nothing  of  the  fact  that  the  elder 
himself  might  have  previously  been  a  Gentile  unbeliever. 
Although  there  may  have  been  retained  in  the  Church  even 
down    to  the  present   time  many  a  method   of  favouring  the 


EARLY  MISSIONS  63 

wealthy  and  the  great  of  the  earth,  can  it  be  believed  for  a 
moment  that  the  Church  would  ever  permit  this  right  to  be 
claimed  by  any  parties  whatsoever?  And  if  ever  views  so 
much  out  of  keeping  with  the  very  nature  of  Christianity  were 
to  become  prevalent,  those  who  held  them  would  assuredly  be 
shown  the  error  of  their  ways  and  no  new  encouragement 
be  afforded  them "  (Mullbauer,  GescJiichte  der  katholischen 
Missionen  in  Ostindien,  p.  209  et  seq). 

Nobili  and  his  system  were  soon  severely  attacked  from 
all  sides.  He  mollified  the  opposition  of  influential  Brahmans 
by  means  of  bribes.  He  met  the  complaints  of  the  Parava 
Christians  by  the  following  public  notice,  which  he  had  nailed 
up  on  the  front  of  his  house  :  "  I  am  no  Prangui.  I  was  neither 
born  in  their  country,  nor  am  I  a  member  of  their  caste.  In 
this  God  is  my  witness,  and  if  I  lie,  I  am  willing,  not  only  to  be 
deemed  a  traitor  to  God  and  to  be  given  over  to  the  pains  of 
hell  hereafter,  but  also  to  suffer  every  conceivable  chastisement 
in  this  world.  I  was  born  in  Rome.  My  family  there  holds 
rank  corresponding  to  that  of  the  most  distinguished  rajahs 
over  here.  From  my  youth  I  have  made  choice  of  the  calling 
of  a  Sannyasi ;  I  have  studied  philosophy  and  the  holy  spiritual 
law.  .  .  .  The  holy  spiritual  law  which  I  proclaim  obliges  no 
man  to  renounce  his  caste  or  to  do  anything  incompatible  with 
his  caste-honour.  This  law  which  I  proclaim  has  been  preached 
in  this  very  land  by  other  men,  Sannyasis  and  saints  alike. 
Whoever  maintains  that  this  law  is  peculiar  to  the  Pranguis  or 
the  Pariahs  commits  a  great  sin ;  for,  since  God  is  Lord  of  all 
castes,  His  law  must  likewise  be  observed  by  all  "  (Mullbauer, 
ibid.  p.  184;  Warneck,  Protestayitische  Bdeuchtung,  p.  390). 
The  sophism  by  which  he  sets  his  Roman  descent  in  contra- 
distinction to  the  popular  conception  of  the  "  Prangui " — 
whether  regarded  as  "  Portuguese  "  or  "  native  Christians  " — is 
fallacious  ;  and  his  insistence  to  such  an  extent  upon  actual  or 
only  imaginary  echoes  of  the  truth  in  Indo-pagan  literature,  as  if 
Christianity  contributed  nothing  further,  nothing  new,  nothing 
radically  different,  is  equally  untrue. 

But  these  lesser  disputes  and  conflicts  at  Madura  were  only 
as  a  drop  in  the  bucket  compared  with  the  fight  for  the  ecclesi- 
astical recognition  of  Nobili's  system — a  system  that  stood  in 
sharp  contrast  to  that  of  Xavier  which  had  prevailed  hitherto, 
to  the  ordinary  rule  and  practice  of  every  monastic  order  in 
India,  and  to  the  resolutions  of  the  Indian  Provincial  Councils, 
There  is  no  point  in  our  tracing  here  the  course  of  these  intricate 
proceedings,  confused  and  involved  as  they  often  were  by  cross- 
currents of  intrigue,  and  of  personal  sympathies  and  antipathies  : 
they  are  not  on   the   whole   very   edifying   reading,  and    they 


64  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

display  an  amazingly  small  amount  of  real  competence,  by  the 
way  in  which  they  were  conducted.  Far  and  away  the  cleverest 
document  in  the  controversy  is  Nobili's  own  defence,  to  which, 
although  it  would  carry  no  conviction  to  a  Protestant  or  any 
one  acquainted  with  Indian  affairs,  there  was  practically  no  reply 
possible  from  the  standpoint  of  late  medieval  Romanism.  The 
temporary  cessation  of  this  thirteen  years'  war  was  brought 
about  by  the  Bull  of  Pope  Gregory  on  January  31st,  1623, 
"  Romanae  sedis  antistes,"  which  gave  ecclesiastical  sanction  to 
Nobili's  system.  It  is  characteristic  of  Roman  Catholicism  to 
notice  on  what  points  the  conflict  is  made  to  turn  and  what 
concessions  were  made  to  Nobili :  "  Out  of  compassion  for 
human  weakness,"  ^  Nobili's  converts  are  permitted  to  retain  the 
plait  of  hair  (the  "  kudumi,"  at  that  time  spelt  "  kodhumbi "), 
the  Brahmanical  thread,  the  sandalwood  sign  on  the  forehead, 
and  the  customary  ablutions  of  their  caste.  They  must,  however, 
separate  these  things  from  all  heathen  superstition  and  envelop 
these  old  pagan  customs  with  a  cloak  of  Christianity.  "  The 
cord  and  the  coil  of  hair  shall  not  be  received  in  idolatrous 
temples,' nor,  as  appears  to  have  been  the  case  hitherto,  at  the 
hands  of  '  yogis '  or  '  bottis '  (masters),  or  from  any  other 
unbeliever,  but  solely  from  Catholic  priests  who  shall  consecrate 
these  things  with  holy  water  and  distribute  them  after  read- 
ing the  prayers  appointed  by  the  bishop  of  the  diocese" 
(Mullbauer,  ibid.  p.  195).  The  great  questions  which  lay  at  the 
root  of  the  whole  conflict,  the  position  of  the  Christian  com- 
munity within  the  caste  system,  the  division  of  the  Church  into 
a  Brahman  and  a  Pariah  section,  the  honourableness  and 
admissibility  of  arrogating  to  themselves  the  name  and  standing 
of  Brahmans,  as  Nobili  and  his  colleagues  had  done,  etc., — all 
such  questions  were  passed  over  in  the  papal  decree,  and 
scarcely  debated  in  the  controversy  which  preceded  it. 

This  papal  decree  of  1623  was  a  victory  for  Nobili's  system. 
On  this  basis  it  was  developed  for  more  than  a  century  in  the 
Tamil  country,  it  was  pushed  to  its  furthest  issues  in  every 
direction,  and  every  possible  inference  and  conclusion  was 
drawn  from  it.  Immediately  after  his  victory  Nobili  himself 
seized  the  staff  of  a  wandering  Brahman  teacher  and  sect 
founder,  in  order  to  propagate  his  new  doctrine  far  and  wide 
throughout  the  Tamil  country,  even  as  far  north  as  Salem. 
Fellow-workers  also  rallied  round  him,  though  in  varying 
numbers.  Only  in  1648,  and  after  forty-two  years  of  missionary 
labour,  did  Nobili,  now  well-nigh  blind,  leave  the  theatre  of  his 
exploits,  and,  obeying  the  orders  of  his  superiors,  retire,  first  to 
the  Jesuit  College  at  Jaffna,  in  Ceylon,  and  then  to  the  Jesuit 

^  '^  Hu>nanc£  in/irmitaits  misercndo." 


EARLY  MISSIONS  65 

monastery  at  Milapur,  near  Madras.  To  the  end  of  his  life  he 
observed  the  strictest  ceremonial  of  a  Sannyasi,  and  limited  his 
diet  to  a  few  bitter  herbs  cooked  in  water.  His  time  was 
divided  betwixt  extensive  literary  work  and  quiet  prayer  in 
the  so-called  Grotto  of  the  Apostle  Thomas.  We  possess  a 
long  list  of  his  Tamil  writings,  most  of  which  were  printed 
sooner  or  later.  An  octogenarian  and  quite  blind,  he  died  in 
peace  and  submission  to  the  will  of  God,  at  Milapur,  on 
February  i6th,  1656.  Incontestably  he  is  numbered,  with  Xavier, 
amongst  the  great  missionaries  of  India  ;  for  a  century  and  a  half 
all  the  important  missionary  work  of  his  Order  was  executed 
along  the  lines  he  had  laid  down  in  so  masterly  a  fashion. 
Even  in  the  nineteenth  century  he  was  remembered  by  the 
Hindus  as  the  Tatwa  Bodha  Swami.  Of  the  fundamental 
deceitfulness  of  his  method  he  seems  to  have  had  no  sense ;  he 
was  too  deeply  imbued  with  the  traditions  of  later  Catholic 
missions  and  was  too  pronounced  a  Jesuit  for  that. 

Missions  on  Nobili's  methods  were  multiplied,  and  they 
carried  with  them  their  natural  consequences.  Although 
Nobili  had  shrewdly  begun  with  the  Brahmans  in  the  pre- 
sentation of  his  teaching,  he  must  nevertheless  have  desired  to 
see  it  spreading  abroad  amongst  the  lower  classes  to  as  large 
an  extent  as  possible,  especially  as  the  Jesuits  soon  discovered 
among  the  Pariahs  and  the  lower  strata  of  the  people  a  much 
greater  readiness  to  receive  the  new  doctrine  than  was  the 
case  among  the  Brahmans.  But  when  large  bodies  of  native 
Christians  began  to  be  recruited  from  the  ranks  of  the  Pariahs 
and  the  caste-less,  a  new  difficulty  came  to  light :  those 
appointed  as  missionaries  to  the  higher  classes  could  not,  if 
they  wished  to  be  any  longer  considered  as  Brahmans  and  to 
work  within  the  boundaries  of  the  caste  system,  have  any 
relations  whatever  with  the  Pariah  Christians,  could  not  enter 
the  churches  and  chapels  built  for  the  Pariahs,  could  not  ad- 
minister to  them  the  Sacraments,  could  not  visit  at  their  huts, 
etc, ;  in  short,  they  were  excluded  from  exercising  all  pastoral 
duties  towards  the  Pariahs.  And,  vice  versa,  a  missionary  to  the 
Pariahs  was  debarred  from  all  access  to  the  Christian  communities 
of  higher  castes.  It  was  a  direct  consequence  of  the  system 
that  two  orders  of  Jesuit  missionaries  came  into  being,  the  Brah- 
man Sannyasis  (Romapuri  Sannyasis  or  Kshatriya  Brahmans, 
i.e.  Northern  Brahmans)  for  the  upper  classes,  and  Pandara 
Swamis  for  the  lower,  and  these  two  classes  were  thus  forced 
to  have  as  little  as  possible  to  do  with  one  another,  and  were 
unable  to  hold  at  any  rate  public  intercourse  the  one  with  the 
other.  It  demanded  a  large  amount  of  self-denial  on  the  part 
of  the  Pandara  Swamis,  thus  debarred  from  all  communication 
5 


66  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

with  the  educated  strata  of  society,  and  indeed  from  the  brethren 
of  their  own  Order,  to  confine  themselves  to  the  uneducated  and 
backboneless  Pariahs.  It  is  no  wonder  that,  towards  the  end  of 
the  seventeenth  and  during  the  eighteenth  century,  when  the 
number  of  Jesuit  missionaries  was  no  longer  adequate  to  cope 
with  their  extensive  missionaiy  work,  no  suitable  Pandara 
Swamis  were  to  be  found.  The  Brahman  Sannyasis  were 
obliged  to  shepherd  the  Pariah  Christian  communities  in  ways 
altogether  pitiful.  They  administered  the  Sacrament  in  the 
dead  of  night  outside  the  doors  of  the  churches,  whither  the 
dying  were  also  brought  for  extreme  unction  ;  they  built  them- 
selves houses  with  secret  side  entrances  for  the  Pariah  Christians  ; 
they  divided  the  churches  by  lofty  walls,  that  the  Pariahs  might 
at  least  behold  the  mass  from  a  transept  or  a  kind  of  "  Nico- 
demus'  corner."  On  the  whole,  however,  they  neglected  the 
already  ignorant  Pariahs  in  a  most  reprehensible  fashion.  The 
main  blame  of  course  for  this  is  due  to  the  insufficient  number 
of  missionaries  employed  in  the  Madura  Mission  ;  even  in  its 
best  days  there  were  seldom  more  than  twelve  or  fifteen 
European  padres  engaged  at  the  same  time  in  this  extensive 
field,  and  after  the  end  of  the  seventeenth  century  there  were 
generally  only  eight.  And  no  change  was  made  when,  after 
the  occupation  of  Pondicherry  by  the  French  in  1680,  French 
Jesuits  began  to  come  to  India.^  Up  to  that  time  the  mission- 
aries had  been  principally  Portuguese  and  Italians.  The  French 
soon  sought  out  a  field  of  their  own  in  the  Carnatic  (North  and 
South  Arcot),  though  they  worked  it  on  Nobili's  methods. 

The  Brahman  Sannyasis  had  likewise  peculiar  difficulties. 
Only  a  Nobili  was  competent  to  penetrate  the  secrets  of 
Brahman  philosophy  and  sophistry  and  to  fight  the  Brahmans 
with  their  own  weapons,  PI  is  successors  frequently  met  with 
the  greatest  obstacles  in  acquiring  the  difficult  Indian  languages, 
and  only  with  difficulty  succeeded  in  steering  a  straight  course 
through  the  maze  of  Indian  philosophy.  Besides  this  it  became 
of  course  more  and  more  awkward  for  Nobili's  successors  to 
maintain  the  fiction  that  they  had  nothing  to  do  with  Europe ; 
their  intimate  relations  therewith  were  only  too  patent,  and  the 
reproach  that  they  were  Pranguis  was  raised  against  them  at 
every  fresh  persecution.  Moreover,  this  fiction  with  its  accom- 
paniment of  an  exclusively  vegetarian  diet,  and  conditions  of 
life  and  mode  of  travel  wholly  intolerable  for  Europeans,  in- 
volved an  abnegation  and  a  self-denial  which  cost  them  dear. 
The  mortality  in  their  ranks,  already  so  thin,  was  disproportion- 
ately large;  a  catechist  speaks  of  the  death  of  twenty-four 
padres  in   the  space  of  forty  years,  whom    he   himself  knew 

1  The  first  of  them  arrived  there  in  1699. 


EARLY  MISSIONS  6j 

intimately,  to  say  nothing   of  those  who  were   compelled    to 
return  from  the  field  with  ruined  health. 

And  the  results  Nobili  actually  aimed  at  with  his  system 
were  never  obtained  either  by  himself  or  by  his  successors. 
Within  the  first  decades  many  Brahmans  are  said  to  have 
embraced  Christianity,  especially  at  Madura.  But  it  was  a 
just  judgment  of  heaven  that  this,  Nobili's  principal  station, 
was  and  continued  to  be,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  the  most  unfruitful 
of  all.  At  Nobili's  death  it  numbered  only  200  Christians — 
and  his  admirers  claim  that  he  converted  100,000  Hindus ! 
And  exactly  in  proportion  as  the  European  descent  of  Nobili 
and  his  colleagues  became  evident,  conversions  from  Brahman 
castes  practically  ceased.  In  the  Jesuit  Mission  at  Madura 
itself  by  far  the  larger  number  of  the  Christians  belonged  to  the 
Sudra  and  Pariah  castes ;  but  the  assumption  by  many  of  these 
of  the  Christian  name  was  purchased  at  the  heavy  expense  of 
maintaining  the  caste  system  of  India  in  all  its  rigour.  Even 
in  the  eighteenth  century  the  idea  was  abroad  in  Christian 
circles  that  they  formed  a  new  religious  caste,  with  a  some- 
what anomalous  doctrine,  it  was  true,  but  still  one  that  would 
in  all  the  details  of  life  fall  within  the  limits  of  Indian  tradition. 

The  fundamental  dishonesty  of  the  Jesuitical  system  is  per- 
haps revealed  in  the  most  striking  way  of  all  by  the  remarkable 
literary  forgeries  which  the  Jesuits  committed,  probably  about 
the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century.  In  order  to  support 
Nobili's  claim  to  have  restored  a  hitherto  lost  Veda,  they  pub- 
lished— which  of  the  missionaries  it  was  we  know  not ;  Catholic 
writers  try  to  exonerate  Nobili  of  any  blame  in  the  matter, 
although  the  native  Christians  of  Pondicherry  always  attributed 
the  authorship  to  him  (Miillbauer,  p.  179,  note  i) — the  so-called 
"  Ezour  Vedam,"  ^  "  the  spiritual  teaching,"  an  exposition  of 
so-called  natural  theology,  from  which  specifically  Christian 
dogmas  were  eliminated,  and  the  whole  of  which  was  arranged 
in  a  form  pleasing  to  Tamil  taste.  The  Jesuit  missionaries  are 
said  to  have  sworn  before  an  assembly  of  Brahmans  that  they  had 
received  this  book  from  the  god  Brahma !  In  India  as  in 
Europe  this  subtle  forgery  was  for  a  century  and  a  half  regarded 
as  genuine,  though  the  reason  was  that  neither  in  the  East  nor 
in  the  West  had  any  one  skilled  knowledge  of  the  real  Vedas,  or  a 
sufficiently  developed  historical  appreciation  of  them.  Protestant 
missionaries  in  Madras  exposed  the  fraud  about  the  year  1840. 

In  order,  however,  to  be  just  to  the  Madura  Mission,  we  must 
remember  one  thing:  it  was  carried  on  under  exceptional 
difficulties.     Its  entire   sphere  of  operations   was,   during   the 

^  Printed  in  French  at  Yverdon  in  2  vols,  in  1778.  Cf.  Asiatic  Researches^ 
vol.  xiv.  pp.  1-159. 


68  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

greater  part  of  a  century  (1690- 17 50),  swept  from  end  to  end 
with  unceasing  wars,  which  inflicted  on  the  Christians  bitter 
persecutions,  pillage,  and  distresses.  And  as  the  missionaries 
had  renounced  all  European  protection,  and  even  all  connection 
with  colonial  powers  hailing  from  Europe,  they  were  thus  ex- 
posed to  every  caprice  of  heathen  and  Muhammadan  rajahs,  and 
to  all  the  hostility  of  the  Brahmans  and  the  fanatical  sects  of  South 
India,  especially  the  Vaishnavites  or  Dasseris.  Times  without 
number  they  were  cast  into  prison,  cruelly  scourged,  banished 
from  the  country,  and  so  on.  One  of  them,  a  pious  monk  named 
Juan  de  Brito,  was  even  put  to  death  in  1693  at  Ureiur  (hod. 
Pudukkottai),  in  the  State  of  Marava.  Why  they  should,  by  a 
most  studied  attention  to  Indian  customs  and  ideas,  avoid  as  far 
as  possible  everything  singular  and  should  wish  to  appear  truly 
Indian  in  every  respect  can  only  really  be  understood  when  one  re- 
members the  hopeless  political  state  of  the  country  and  their  own 
perilous  situation  as  well  as  that  of  their  adherents.  It  was  only 
by  laying  claim  to  the  calling  of  a  Sannyasi  that  they  obtained 
any  measure  of  protection  whether  from  potentate  or  from  people 
— for  no  Hindu  would  ever  dare  to  lay  hands  on  a  Sannyasi. 

In  view  of  these  exceptional  difficulties  it  is  worthy  of  note 
that  besides  Nobili  and  Juan  de  Brito,  the  martyr,  quite  a 
number  of  distinguished  men  worked  in  the  Madura  Mission ; 
such  were  the  devoted  pastor  and  seeker  of  souls,  Martinez 
(d.  1656),  the  eminent  linguist  Joseph  Beschi  (d,  1747)  whom  the 
Tamils  have  come  to  regard  as  one  of  their  classical  writers,  that 
self-denying  Frenchman,  Jean  V.  Bouchet,  etc.  What  number 
of  native  Christians  belonged  to  this  mission  cannot  be  accurately 
stated,  both  on  account  of  the  entire  lack  of  reliable  statistics 
and  of  the  frequent  alterations  in  the  stations. 

The  main  centres  of  its  work  were  Madura,  Trichinopoly 
(later  Aur  or  Wariur,  in  its  immediate  neighbourhood),  Tanjore 
(later  the  adjacent  town  of  Elakurichi),  the  kingdom  of  Marava 
(the  modern  Pudukkottai  and  Ramnad),  Satyamangalam  in 
Mysore,  and  a  few  stations  north  of  the  Cauvery.  Then  at  the 
commencement  of  the  eighteenth  century  there  were  added  the 
new  (1680)  French  sphere  at  Pondicherry  and  a  few  stations  in 
the  Carnatic  (the  Arcot  provinces).  At  Nobili's  death  in  1656 
100,000  Christians  are  said  to  have  belonged  to  the  Mission. 
About  the  year  1703  the  number  of  Christians  in  the  whole 
district  was  reckoned  in  round  numbers  at  150,000  souls,  46,482 
of  whom  we  can  check  by  the  baptismal  records  for  the  years 
1656-1687  (Miillbauer,  ibid.  p.  237  and  p.  212,  note).  In 
Mysore  there  may  have  been  some  35,000  in  all,  and  at  the 
French  stations  in  the  Carnatic  between  8000-9000.  In  the 
small  kingdom  of  Marava,  which,  however,  enjoyed  the  reputa- 


EARLY  MISSIONS  6g 

tion  of  being  peculiarly  "  good  ground,"  we  are  told  that  in 
1687  there  were  only  2070  Christians;  in  1691-1692,  8000;  in 
1693-1694,  14,000,  and  a  short  time  afterwards  other  13,600,  mak- 
ing a  total  of  37,670  persons  baptized  in  eight  years  !  Laynez, 
General  Director  of  the  Madras  Mission  from  1685  to  1704,  is 
said  to  have  baptized  45,000  people  himself.  But  these  figures 
are  all  unreliable.  At  any  rate  Dubois,  one  of  the  Jesuits  them- 
selves, states  that  in  his  time  (18 15)  there  were  but  33,000 
Christians  at  the  outside  connected  with  the  Madura  Mission. 
It  is  still  more  deplorable  to  read  that  even  this  number  were 
in  an  unhealthy  condition.  Thus  Mlillbauer,  an  upright  and 
reliable  witness,  writes  :  "  For  a  hundred  and  fifty  years  the 
missionaries  worked  unweariedly  among  the  Indian  Christians  ; 
but  there  resulted  therefrom  neither  any  considerable  movement 
towards  Christianity  amongst  the  upper  castes,  nor  yet  the  least 
amalgamation  of  the  various  castes  amongst  those  professing 
Christianity"  (idid.  p.  210). 

It  was  quite  impossible  that  the  decree  of  1623  could  be  the 
last  word  of  the  Holy  See  on  the  accommodation  policy  of 
the  Jesuits,  About  1700  the  controversy  broke  forth  afresh, 
and  raged  with  incredible  vehemence  and  bitterness  during  the 
next  forty-four  years.  On  renewed  plaints  being  received  from 
the  Capucine  monks  in  1703,  Pope  Clement  xi.  dispatched 
Maillard  de  Tournon,  Patriarch  of  Antioch,  to  India,  with  full 
power  to  pronounce  a  definite  verdict  on  the  practices  of  the 
Jesuits.  On  June  23rd,  1704,  he  published  a  decree  in  which 
sixteen  malpractices  of  the  Jesuits  were  condemned.  At  a 
baptism  neither  the  anointing  of  the  convert  with  spittle,  nor 
the  use  of  salt,  nor  breathing  upon  the  face  of  the  convert 
must  be  omitted!!  It  is  not  permissible  to  give  names  or 
appellations  to  converts  or  to  church  furniture  similar  in  sound 
to  those  given  to  an  idol  or  a  heathen  Sannyasi  (2  and  3). 
The  baptism  of  converts'  children  shall  not  be  delayed  beyond 
a  certain  time  mutually  agreed  upon  (4).  Marriage  before  the 
age  of  seven  years  (!)  is  forbidden  (5).  The  tali  or  sign  of 
marriage,  and  the  knot  of  a  hundred  and  eight  threads  by  which 
it  is  worn,  are  forbidden  (6  and  7).  Women  may  attend  the 
churches  during  the  morbus  menstrualis  (10).  "  When  a  maiden 
is  afflicted  with  the  above-mentioned  indisposition  for  the  first 
time,  the  fact  shall  not  be  made  public,  for  decency's  sake,  and 
no  festival  ought  on  that  account  to  be  celebrated  by  relatives 
and  neighbours"  (i  i).  It  is  forbidden  to  Pariah  Christians  to 
serve  as  musicians  in  heathen  temples ;  it  is  also  forbidden  to 
daub  marks  on  the  forehead  with  ashes  of  cow-dung  and 
to  practise  the  customary  washings  and  ceremonial  ablutions 
of  the  Brahmans,  etc.  (13,    14,   15).     The  most   incisive    pro- 


70  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

nouncement  was  the  12th:  "In  future,  refusal  of  the  Holy 
Sacrament  to  Pariahs  who  may  be  sick  will  no  longer  be  per- 
mitted ;  such  persons  shall  be  visited  by  the  missionaries  in 
their  homes,  and  the  sacred  unction  given  without  distinction 
of  sex  or  caste."  With  the  exception  of  this  last,  the  clauses 
in  Tournon's  decree  seem  to  us  somewhat  paltry ;  they  strike 
at  the  coarser  abuses  which  had  crept  in  under  the  accommoda- 
tion system  in  course  of  time,  without  entering  into  the  great 
questions  of  principle  which  lay  at  the  root  of  it.  The  question 
Tournon  set  before  himself  in  each  separate  case  was :  Which 
usages  may  in  a  case  of  necessity  be  allowed  to  remain,  and 
which  must  be  abolished  for  the  sake  of  uniformity  of  observ- 
ance in  the  Romish  Church  ? 

It  is  on  this  decree  of  Tournon  that  all  further  hostilities, 
extending  as  they  did  over  more  than  the  next  forty  years, 
hinge.  The  Jesuits  made  every  effort  to  hinder  its  being  carried 
out,  or  to  obtain  its. withdrawal.  They  appealed  to  unconfirmed 
expressions  of  opinion  both  by  Tournon  and  by  Pope 
Clement  XI. ;  they  opposed  the  Pope's  briefs  by  passive  resist- 
ance, and  by  emphasising  the  Portuguese  right  of  patronage 
they  stirred  up  the  Bishops  and  Archbishops  of  Goa  and 
Milapur  against  the  intervention  of  the  Pope.  But  it  was  all 
to  no  purpose,  each  successive  Pope  confirmed  and  renewed 
Tournon's  judgment:  Clement  XI.  in  two  briefs  of  January  7th, 
1707  and  1711  ;  Benedict  Xlll.  by  the  brief,  "Ad  aures  nostras 
pervenit "  of  December  12th,  1727;  Clement  XII.  by  that 
entitled  "  Compertum  exploratumque"  of  August  24th,  1734 
(there  were  a  few  unimportant  concessions  to  the  Jesuits  in  this 
one),  and  later  by  the  two  commencing  "  concredita  nobis" 
(May  13th,  1739)  and  "  continere  labia  nostra  non  possumus." 
The  conflict  was  finally  terminated  by  Pope  Benedict 
XIV.  in  the  famous  Bull  "Omnium  sollicitudinum "  dated 
September  12th,  1744,  in  which  he  confirmed  and  emphasised 
Tournon's  decree  and  the  briefs  of  his  predecessors.  "  Should 
the  members  of  the  Society  of  Jesus  not  obey  within  the 
appointed  time,  they  shall  be  deprived  of  all  authority,  and 
missionaries  of  another  Order  be  sent  out  to  India"  (Mull- 
bauer,  ibid.  pp.  262-276).  There  cannot  be  the  least  doubt  that, 
so  far  as  Tournon  in  his  decree  struck  at  the  abuses  of  the 
Jesuits,  he  has  received,  notwithstanding  the  almost  desperate 
opposition  of  that  Order,  the  unconditional  sanction  and 
approval  of  the  Papal  See  ;  that  is  to  say,  the  Jesuits  experienced 
a  complete  defeat  in  this  controversy.  It  is  therefore  incom- 
prehensible that  as  late  as  1875  a  writer  in  Katliolisc/ieti 
Missionen  should  make  the  assertion :  "  In  the  end  Nobili's 
principles  proved  themselves  both  tenable  and  practicable,  and 


EARLY  MISSIONS  71 

his  method  of  procedure  not  simply  not  captious  but  the  only 
serviceable  one  under  the  circumstances"  (p.  52).  And  it  is 
a  most  barefaced  contradiction  of  the  truth  when  the  Jesuit, 
Father  Atteridge  (in  the  Dublin  Review,  1884,  p.  121),  contends 
that  the  Bull  "  Omnium  sollicitudinum  "  was  "  in  no  sense  a  con- 
demnation of  Nobili's  methods.  The  principle  adopted  by 
Nobili  was  not  condemned  but  sanctioned  by  the  Papal  See"  !! 
(Cf.  Warneck,  Abriss,  p.  366.) 

(e)  Other  Roman  Catholic  Missions  during  the  Sixteenth, 
Seventeenth,  and  Eighteenth  CentwHes 

As  we  have  already  mentioned,  the  Franciscans  carried  on 
extensive  missionary  work  in  India  even  before  the  Jesuits, 
and  more  especially  two  branches  of  this  widely  diffused  Order, 
the  Observantes  and  the  Reformat!.  Most  unfortunately, 
their  power  was  held  in  check  for  more  than  half  a  century, 
dating-  from  1580,  by  a  most  passionate  quarrel  con- 
cerning the  establishment  of  an  independent  province  of 
the  Order  of  the  Observantes  in  India.  At  the  end  of  the 
seventeenth  century  there  were  200  Observantes  and  258 
Reformat!  in  the  various  Franciscan  establishments  in  India 
and  Ceylon.  From  1548  onwards  the  Dominicans  were  also 
to  be  found  in  India  in  ever  increasing  numbers.  Besides 
these  two  Orders  we  find  Jesuits  nearly  everywhere  (in  addition 
to  those  engaged  in  the  Madura  Mission).  All  three  Orders 
had  their  headquarters  in  the  Portuguese  colonies  on  the  west 
and  south  coasts  of  India  ;  they  laboured  principally  within  the 
Portuguese  domain  or  spheres  of  influence.  Such  headquarters 
were  the  coast  fortresses  of  Diu,  Bassein,  Shaul,  Goa  with  its 
adjacent  islands,  the  peninsulas  of  Salsette  and  Bardez,  and  the 
island  of  Karanja,  Cochin,  and  Negapatam.  It  is  perfectly 
astounding  how  strongly  these  places  were  manned.  In  Goa, 
for  instance,  there  were  first  and  foremost  the  magnificent 
headquarters  of  the  Jesuits,  their  College  with  130  fully 
ordained  priests  (in  1634),  the  adjacent  House  for  those  who 
had  recently  taken  their  vows  with  30  inmates,  as  well  as 
a  House  for  Novitiates  and  a  Seminary ;  then  there  was  the 
Monastery  of  the  Franciscan  Observantists  with  60  monks 
(about  the  year  1700)  and  a  College,  both  institutions  with 
chairs  of  theology  and  philosophy ;  the  great  Madre  de  Dios 
Monastery  of  the  Franciscan  Reformat! ;  the  St.  Domingo 
Monastery  of  the  Dominicans  with  70  monks  (in  1560);  and 
just  outside  the  gates  of  Goa  the  Novitiate  Monastery  of 
St.  Thomas  inhabited  by  30  Dominicans,  and  acting  as  a 
kind  of  University,  with  five  chairs  of  theology  and  philosophy ; 


72  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

the  Monastery  of  the  Augustinians  with  50  monks  (in  1600), 
near  to  which  stood  a  nunnery,  at  that  time  the  only  one  in 
India;  the  Monastery  of  the  Carmehtes  (built  in  181 8),  and  the 
principal  House  of  the  Theatines.  Thus  in  the  halcyon  days  of 
Goa  there  must  have  been  between  300  and  400  monks 
constantly  in  residence  there.  Some  of  them  at  any  rate  were 
occupied  in  shepherding  the  forcibly  converted  inhabitants  of 
the  town  and  island  of  Goa,  the  peninsulas  of  Salsette  and 
Bardez,  and  the  island  of  Karanja.  It  is  barely  conceivable  that 
in  spite  of  all  this  bitter  complaints  had  to  be  made  about  the 
spiritual  neglect  of  the  people  of  Goa.  "  Although  there  were 
many  monasteries  and  priests  in  Goa,  yet  the  ignorance  of  the 
majority  of  the  lower  classes  was  such  that  they  could  not  be 
admitted  to  the  table  of  the  Lord  even  in  the  hour  of  death, 
because  the  priests  had  not  taken  the  trouble  to  instruct  them, 
or  perhaps  because  they  were  unequal  to  the  exertion  of  hearing 
confessions  "  (Miillbauer,  p.  352).  Other  Portuguese  settlements 
were  similarly  rich  in  monasteries,  churches,  colleges,  and  various 
religious  institutions ;  these  coast  towns  literally  swarmed  with 
them.  We  should  conclude  that  in  such  places  the  combina- 
tion of  the  temporal  power  of  the  Portuguese  and  the  large 
numbers  of  priests  and  monks  would  promote  rapid  progress 
in  Christianising  the  populace ;  but  we  have  no  numerical 
results  to  go  upon. 

In  direct  contrast  to  these  very  strongly  garrisoned  coast 
towns  are  the  few  inland  missions,  which  could  not,  however, 
depend  to  the  same  extent  on  Portuguese  functionaries  for  protec- 
tion. The  Goa  district  was  surrounded  on  the  north,  south,  and 
east  by  the  kingdom  of  Bijapur,  and  several  thousands  of  the 
Goa  Christians  belonged  to  this  kingdom,  especially  in  the 
provinces  immediately  adjacent  to  Goa.  At  first  the  Jesuits 
attempted  to  obtain  a  foothold  in  this  kingdom,  the  Muham- 
madan  rulers  of  which  were  mostly  inimical  to  Portugal ;  as 
they  met  with  insuperable  difficulties,  however,  owing  to  their 
European  birth,  they  entrusted  this  work  to  a  company  of 
priests  composed  of  converted  Brahmans,  the  so-called  Ora- 
torians.  The  enterprise  does  not  seem  to  have  met  with  much 
success.  Nor  do  the  Jesuits  appear  to  have  been  more  fortunate 
in  their  labours  begun  in  1643  at  Seitta  Panaiche,  a  small  king- 
dom in  that  Kanarese-speaking  region  which  we  to-day  term  the 
South  Maratha  country,  for  their  work  here  was  soon  abandoned. 
The  Theatine  monks  from  1641  to  1693  attempted  to  gain  a 
footing  in  the  then  powerful  kingdom  of  Golconda  (hod.  Hydera- 
bad), but  their  work  too  met  with  manifold  interruptions,  and  they 
were  not  numerous  enough  to  carry  it  on  to  advantage.  They 
founded,  however,  small  scattered  communities  of  native  Chris- 


EARLY  MISSIONS  73 

tians  at  Masulipatam,  Chicacole,  Bimlipatam,  and  other  places 
situated  on  a  strip  of  the  coast  of  the  Central  and  Northern  Tclugu 
country,  which  was  at  that  time  partly  under  Portuguese  influence. 
The  duty  of  caring  for  these  little  companies  subsequently 
passed  into  the  hands  of  the  Augustinians.  This  latter  Order, 
taking  as  its  base  the  Portuguese  factory  Hooghly,  not  far  from 
the  modern  Calcutta,  had  undertaken  an  extensive  series  of 
operations  in  Lower  Bengal.  During  the  short  golden  age  of 
this  mission,  in  the  first  thirty  years  of  the  seventeenth  century, 
its  adherents  stretched  from  Pipli  in  Orissa  to  Chittagong  in 
Further  India,  and  included  22,000  Christians  in  eleven  large 
parishes.  But  even  Roman  Catholic  authorities  judge  un- 
favourably of  its  promoters.  "  The  churches  are  nearly  in 
ruins,  the  monks  are  covetous  and  dissolute,  they  maintain  a 
vast  number  of  servants,  are  ignorant  of  all  higher  education 
and  of  the  language  of  the  people — although  they  spend  three 
years  in  Hooghly  in  order  to  learn  it "  (Mullbauer,  p.  343). 
Two  other  missionary  enterprises  of  this  period  are  of  great 
interest.  From  the  year  1707  Italian  Capucines  had  been 
pressing  through  Nepal  and  Tibet,  and  at  length  they  arrived 
at  Lhasa  and  founded  stations  there,  and  at  Takpo,  as  well  as 
in  the  three  chief  towns  of  Nepal,  Patan,  Bhatgaon  and 
Katmandu ;  their  main  bases  for  this  very  advanced  work 
were  Chandernagore  on  the  Lower  Hooghly,  already  in  the  hands 
of  the  French,  and  Patna  on  the  lower  Ganges.  The  other 
enterprise,  and  one  that  enjoyed  much  fame  at  the  time,  was  the 
Jesuit  mission  to  the  court  of  the  Great  Moghul.  The  Emperor 
Akbar  (1555-1605),  the  most  kindly  ruler  in  Muhammadan 
India,  summoned  the  Jesuit  fathers  to  his  court  in  1580,  in 
order  that  he  too  might  acquire  a  thorough  knowledge  of 
Christianity.  He  had  created  a  kind  of  eclectic  religion,  taking 
elements  from  Islam,  Brahmanism,  Zoroastrianism,  and  all 
manner  of  Indian  sects.  This  he  called  the  "  Ilahi"  religion  ;  it 
was  a  religion  in  which  pure  Deism  was  to  find  its  expression  in 
sun-worship  and  veneration  of  the  Emperor.  This  mixed  religion 
had  already  been  completed  and  promulgated  before  the  Jesuits 
reached  Akbar's  court.  The  latter  was  therefore  not  at  all 
likely  to  desire  to  become  a  Christian  and  to  be  baptized. 
Nevertheless,  the  Director  of  the  Jesuit  Order  issued  instruc- 
tions that  priests  were  to  remain  at  the  court  of  the  Great 
Moghul  as  long  as  possible,  that  they  might  be  ready  to  seize 
any  favourable  opportunity  of  gaining  influence.  The  mission 
was  thus  purely  one  connected  with  the  court,  and  it  limited 
itself  almost  exclusively  to  the  pastoral  oversight  of  the  few 
Portuguese  or  other  Christians  who  had  been  driven  by  evil 
chance  to  the  court  or  the  dominions  of  the  Great  Moghul.     A 


74  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

number  of  truly  zealous  and  devoted  Jesuits  occupied  this 
difficult  post,  such  as  Rudolfo  Aquaviva  (i 580-1 583)  and 
Hieronimo  Xavier,  a  nephew  of  Francisco  Xavier  (1595-1610?). 
So  long  as  the  magnanimous  Akbar  held  the  reins  of  power, 
things  went  on  tolerably  well ;  but  under  his  vacillating  successor, 
Jehangir,  and  the  latter's  fanatical  Muhammadan  successors. 
Shah  Jehan  and  Aurungzebe,  the  work  came  to  a  complete 
standstill.  The  largest  number  of  Christians  seems  never  to 
have  exceeded  100.  "  About  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth 
century  there  existed  five  Christian  churches  in  the  Moghul 
Empire,  two  at  Delhi,  one  at  Agra,  one  at  Marwar,  and  one  at 
Jaipur,  the  last  named  without  a  missionary  and  almost  with- 
out Christians"  (Miillbauer,  p.  287). 

From  the  second  half  of  the  seventeenth  century  two  cir- 
cumstances operated  unfavourably  on  the  development  of 
Roman  Catholic  missions.  The  first  of  these  was  the  decline 
of  the  Portuguese  power.  About  1650  the  Dutch  obtained 
entire  mastery  over  Ceylon.  In  1658  they  conquered  the 
Jaffiia  district;  during  that  same  year  they  occupied 
Negapatam,  Manar,  and  Tuticorin,  whilst  in  1662  Kranganur, 
in  1663  Cochin,  and  in  1681  Quilon  fell  into  their  hands. 
Everywhere  they  regarded  the  priests  and  monks,  hand  and 
glove  with  the  Portuguese  as  these  latter  were,  as  their  natural 
enemies ;  they  drove  them  into  exile,  pulled  down  their 
monasteries,  and  seized  their  churches  for  their  own  use.  In 
1668  Bombay  and  the  island  of  Salsette  passed  by  inheritance 
to  Charles  II.  of  England,  and  in  consequence  of  this  the 
Franciscans  in  that  region  were  compelled  to  beat  a  retreat. 
As  far  back  as  1632  the  Great  Moghul,  Shah  Jehan,  and  his 
governor,  Kasim  Khan,  had  temporarily  captured  and  pulled 
down  the  Portuguese  port  of  Hooghly  in  remote  Bengal,  and 
had  thereby  inflicted  a  grievous  blow  on  the  Augustinian 
mission  in  that  place.  In  1739  the  Marathas  stormed  all 
Portuguese  ports  north  of  Goa,  and  put  an  end  to  Portuguese 
dominion  in  those  parts.  Although  Portuguese  monks  had  been 
the  pioneers  of  missionary  work  and  service  during  the  sixteenth 
and  seventeenth  centuries,  their  interest  in  missionary  and 
ecclesiastical  progress  began  to  die  down  the  moment  the 
temporal  power  of  the  Portuguese  began  to  decay.  Monasteries 
which  in  better  days  had  been  manned  by  twenty-five  or  more 
monks,  could  now  count  on  a  bare  half-dozen,  whilst  others 
stood  entirely  empty.  The  staff  of  workers  barely  sufficed  to 
conserve  the  ground  already  won ;  further  conquests  were  no 
longer  thought  of. 

Furthermore,  other  territorial  interests,  particularly  those  of 
France  and  England,  had  grown  powerful,  and  these  nations 


EARLY  MISSIONS  75 

insisted  upon  the  sending  out  of  non-Portuguese  as  pastors  of 
the  native  churches  and  as  missionaries.  Moreover,  there  had 
arisen  beyond  the  borders  of  Portugal,  especially  in  Italy  and 
France,  a  lively  interest  in  missions  to  India,  and  missionaries 
who  were  sent  out  from  those  countries  were  by  no  means 
disposed  to  swear  allegiance  to  the  King  of  Portugal  or  to  allow 
themselves  to  be  sent  out  by  Portuguese  organisations.  It  is 
true  the  Pope  had  in  1454  granted  the  King  of  Portugal  an 
unlimited  right  of  patronage  over  the  entire  Indian  mission 
field ;  but  in  view  of  the  altered  position  of  affairs  both  the 
Pope  and  the  Congregatio  de  Propaganda  Fide,  a  Society 
established  in  1632,  saw  the  urgent  necessity  of  promoting 
mission  work  in  India  independent  of  Portugal.  Portugal,  on 
the  other  hand,  regarded  every  attempt  in  that  direction  as  an 
infringement  of  her  rights,  and  sought  to  frustrate  it  by  all  kinds 
of  intrigue  and  opposition.  From  1630,  therefore,  we  see  new 
monkish  organisations  taking  the  field  in  opposition  to  Portugal, 
and  the  pages  of  Roman  Catholic  missionary  history  are 
henceforth  filled  with  recitals  of  unedifying  quarrels  between 
Portugal  and  Rome,  which  later  came  to  a  head  in  the  painful 
schism  of  Goa.  The  Italian  Theatines  had  already  suffered 
greatly  by  reason  of  this  discord  ;  after  the  failure  of  their  other 
missionary  ventures,  they  undertook  in  1693  the  pastoral  care 
of  the  Romish  Christians  in  the  English  station  of  Cuddalore. 
The  Capucines,  who  were  for  the  most  part  of  French  origin, 
and  who  had  laboured  since  the  year  1630  in  Pondicherry  and 
Madras,  became  in  the  "  Accommodation  Controversy "  from 
1703  onwards  the  most  determined  opponents  of  the  methods 
of  the  Jesuits.  Later  they  sought  out  a  field  far  away  from 
"  these  noises "  in  Nepal  and  Tibet.  The  Carmelites,  resident 
in  India  from  1616,  assumed  pastoral  oversight  of  the  English 
possessions  of  Surat,  Bombay,  and  above  all  of  the  Syrians 
united  with  Rome  living  in  Travancore  and  Cochin,  where  we 
shall  encounter  them  later. 


(f)  TJie  Stniggles  of  the  Syrian  ChujxJi  in  Malabar  and  the 
Victoiy  of  the  Romish  Church.     1498-1599^ 

Whilst  Vasco  da  Gama  and  his  followers  did  not  find  in 
South  India  (as  many,  basing  their  hopes  on  uncertain  rumours 
and  hearsay,  had  hoped)  a  great  Christian  empire,  such  as  that 
of  the  fabulous  Prester  John,  for  instance,  they  did,  however, 

^  Bibliography :  Dr.  W.  Germann,  Die  Kirche  der  Thomas-Christian,  ein  Beitrag 
zur  Geschichte  der  orientalischen  Kircheii,  pp.  313-770;  Collins,  Missionary  Enter- 
prise in  the  East  with  especial  reference  to  the  Syrian  Christians  of  Malabar  ; 
Buchanan,  Christian  Researches. 


'je  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

discover  there  a  very  ancient,  comparatively  strong,  and  highly 
respected  Christian  Church.  Now  for  the  first  time  detailed 
and  trustworthy  reports  about  it  began  gradually  to  percolate 
into  Europe  ;  at  length  we  see  this  ancient  Church,  though  it 
must  be  understood  that  our  view  of  it  is  obtained  by  looking 
through  the  spectacles  of  Roman  Catholic  priests  and  bishops. 
Those  Indian  Christians,  who  call  themselves  Thomas  Chris- 
tians— after  their  greatly  revered  and  venerated  Apostle  Thomas 
— live  almost  exclusively  on  that  part  of  the  Malabar  coast 
between  Calicut  in  the  north  and  Quilon  in  the  south  ;  the 
little  groups  found  farther  to  the  north  or  south  of  the  district 
lying  between  those  two  towns  are  offshoots  of  the  parent 
body.  Within  that  region  they  are  found  most  numerously  on 
the  strip  of  land  between  Kranganur  and  Aleppey,  reaching  from 
the  seacoast  to  the  western  spurs  of  the  Ghats.  At  the  begin- 
ning of  the  sixteenth  century  it  was  estimated  that  they 
comprised  30,000  families,  or  about  150,000  souls.  The  far- 
famed  and  numerous  community  found  in  earlier  times  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  the  shrines  of  St,  Thomas  at  Milapur  would 
appear  to  have  been  wholly  dispersed.  The  Portuguese  found 
the  Malabar  coast  rent  and  torn  asunder  into  countless  little, 
and  less  than  little,  kingdoms  and  principalities,  such  as  the 
kingdom  of  the  Samuri  of  Calicut,  those  of  Cochin,  Pimenta, 
Parua,  Porca,  Mangate,  Muterte,  Wadakenkur,  Tekkenkur, 
Travancore,  and  others,  most  of  them  no  larger  than  the  smallest 
of  the  "  plum  "  States  of  Germany,  and  generally  at  war  one 
with  another.  The  tradition  was  still  extant  among  the 
Christians  that  they  had  at  no  very  distant  date  formed  an 
independent  kingdom,  and  they  still  preserved  the  sceptre  of 
their  last  "  king."  In  the  meantime  they  had  lost  their  political 
independence,  and  were  scattered  up  and  down  the  various 
small  principalities,  often  oppressed  and  downtrodden,  but  yet 
on  the  whole  a  highly  respected  and  wealthy  class.  Although 
politically  rent  asunder,  they  clung  firmly  to  their  ecclesiastical 
unity.  From  the  most  ancient  times  they  had  regarded  the 
Nestorian  Patriarch  of  the  East,  who  then  resided  at  Mosul  or 
Gazerta,  as  their  supreme  spiritual  head  ;  but  for  centuries  no 
Nestorian  bishops  appear  to  have  been  sent  from  Mesopotamia 
to  Malabar.  It  so  happened  that  in  the  year  1490 — that  is,  a 
few  years  before  the  arrival  of  the  Portuguese — the  Catholikos 
Mar  Simeon  had  consecrated  two  men  both  bearing  the  name  of 
Joseph  Rabban,  as  Bishops  for  India  and  China.  He  gave  them 
the  appellations  Bishop  Thomas  and  Bishop  John,  and  dis- 
patched them  to  Malabar,  His  successor  Elias  (who  took  office 
in  1502)  had  ordained  (1503)  two  further  bishops.  Mar  Denha 
and  Mar  Jacob,  and  a  third,  Iballaha,  as  Metropolitan,     These 


EARLY  MISSIONS 


T7 


five  Syrians  were  received  in  Malabar  with  great  rejoicing;  and 
the  old  ecclesiastical  ties  were  thereby  renewed,  even  though 
at  so  late  an  hour.  Unfortunately  the  Nestorian  Church 
in  Mesopotamia  was  weakened  by  inward  strife  during  the 
sixteenth  century.  The  Patriarch  who  died  in  1551  left  behind 
only  a  relative  named  Simeon,  who  was,  however,  unpopular. 
It  had  been  the  rule  for  more  than  a  century  in  the  Nestorian 
Church  for  the  Patriarch  to  be  chosen  from  the  immediate 
connections  of  his  predecessor.  The  Eastern  Nestorians  there- 
fore recognised  Simeon,  and  his  successors,  all  bearing  the  name 
Simeon,  have  ever  since  been  acknowledged  as  the  heads  of  the 
Syrian  Nestorians  in  Kurdistan  and  Urmia.  But  the  Western 
Nestorians  chose  John  Sulaka  as  a  rival  Patriarch  (1552),  and 
he,  in  order  to  assure  his  position,  threw  himself  into  the  arms  of 
the  Romish  Church  (1553).  Both  branches  of  the  Nestorians, 
the  older  under  Patriarch  Simeon,  and  the  one  newly  united 
with  Rome,  now  exercised  the  right  of  ordaining  bishops  for 
Malabar,  and  the  intrigues  of  the  Romish  Propaganda  made 
harvest  of  the  rivalry  of  the  two  bishops  and  worked  with  might 
and  main  to  win  the  whole  of  the  Church  of  Malabar  over  to 
Rome.  Only  two  bishops  of  Malabar  are  of  note  in  the  six- 
teenth century.  Mar  Jacob  (probably  1503-1549)  and  Mar 
Abraham  (15 57-1596  or   1597). 

The  Thomas  Christians  retained  Syrian  as  the  language  of 
the  Church  with  great  tenacity,  although  Malayalam  was  the 
general  language  of  the  countryside.  Only  Syrian  books  were 
used,  amongst  them  being  several  very  ancient  and  valuable 
MSS.  of  the  Peschito.  It  is  noteworthy  that  these  MSS.  lacked 
the  Books  of  Esther,  Tobias,  the  Wisdom  of  Solomon,  2  Peter, 
2  and  3  John,  and  the  Revelation,  as  well  as  John  viii.  i-i  i  {re  the 
adulteress)  and  1  John  v.  7  (the  three  witnesses),  and  in  other 
places  they  showed  striking  divergence  from  the  text  commonly 
received  amongst  ourselves.  The  churches  were  for  the  most 
part  very  old,  not  unlike  those  of  Europe,  frequently  having  high 
vaulted  roofs,  and  being  decorated  with  large  and  often  very 
old  crosses.  On  the  other  hand,  there  were  no  pictures  of  saints  ; 
the  only  saints  they  honoured  were  the  fathers  of  the  Nestorian 
Church.  They  observed  three  sacraments — baptism,  Holy 
Communion,  and  ordination  to  the  priesthood.  The  Lord's 
Supper  they  administered  in  both  kinds;  but  before  handing 
the  bread  to  the  communicant  the  priest  dipped  it  in  the  wine. 
Instead  of  grape  wine,  which  could  not  be  obtained,  they  made 
use  of  juice  pressed  from  raisins,  previously  steeped  in  water, 
or  even  the  ordinary  palm  wine  of  the  country.  They  had  no 
confirmation,  no  auricular  confession,  no  extreme  unction. 
Further,   and    this    is    particularly    noteworthy,   they   had    no 


78  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

monachism — no  monks,  no  nuns,  no  monasteries.  Withal  they 
maintained  a  well  ordered  church  discipline,  which  was  exercised 
by  the  priests  in  the  presence  of  the  whole  congregation,  and 
their  ban  fell  heavily  on  all  evil-doers  in  civil  as  well  as  in  church 
life.  A  beautiful  and  greatly  beloved  custom  was  that  of  the 
"  love-feast "  (Nercha),  at  the  celebration  of  which  many  thousands 
of  Christians  frequently  assembled.  It  was  a  good  sign,  too,  that 
girls  who  were  poor  (and  as,  according  to  the  Syrian  custom, 
girls  had  no  right  of  inheritance,  there  were  many  such)  were 
endowed  either  by  members  of  the  congregation  or  from  the 
church  funds.  The  Syrian  Christians  ate  only  fish  and  herbs 
on  Wednesdays  and  Fridays ;  on  the  other  hand,  they  did  not 
regard  Saturday  as  a  fast  day.  Mass  was  said  every  Sunday, 
though  it  was  not  a  strict  rule  of  the  Church  that  the  congrega- 
tions should  assemble  in  the  churches  to  hear  it.  It  is  worthy 
of  special  note  that  there  existed  a  very  numerous  body  of  native 
priests  (Kattanars)  and  deacons  (Shammas),  who  were  required 
to  attain  a  certain  degree  of  education,  and,  in  particular,  a 
knowledge  of  the  Syrian  language,  though  it  must  be  admitted 
this  education  was  not  of  a  very  high  order.  In  many  families 
the  spiritual  calling  had  been  hereditary  from  time  immemorial, 
especially  in  the  Palamattam  family  at  Korolongata.  In 
addition  to  this,  the  priests  were  proud  of  and  insisted  on  the 
national  character  of  their  Church.  From  the  Palamattam 
family  was  always  chosen  the  archdeacon,  the  most  influential 
of  all  the  priests  save  the  bishop  sent  from  Mesopotamia.  Most 
of  the  priests  were  married  ;  many  even  married  a  second  time ; 
and  their  wives  were  held  in  the  greatest  esteem. 

It  must  be  admitted,  however,  that  there  was  a  considerable 
amount  of  compromise  with  the  usages  and  ideas  of  the 
surrounding  heathen ;  marriages  were  often  celebrated  when 
one  or  both  parties  were  only  nine  or  ten  years  of  age;  cases 
of  polygamy  were  not  unknown  ;  Sunday  labour  was  not 
infrequent ;  children  were  seldom  baptized  before  their  fortieth 
day,  and  often  it  was  a  case  of  months  and  years  ;  in  the 
remoter  districts  there  were  whole  families  who  had  never  been 
baptized.  Pride  in  the  high  caste  accorded  to  the  Syrians  in 
virtue  of  their  Christianity  was  so  great  that  they  avoided  all 
intercourse  with  the  lowest  castes,  and  discountenanced  and 
sought  to  prevent  the  conversion  of  members  of  low  castes  to 
Christianity.  Within  the  memory  of  man  they  had  never 
carried  on  any  kind  of  missionary  activity.  The  Syrian  Church 
was  thus  as  it  were  a  foreign  body,  wholly  self-contained,  in 
the  midst  of  the  heathen  populace  of  Malabar,  and  for  that 
very  reason  the  more  tenacious  of  its  customs  and  traditions. 

At  first  the  Thomas  Christians,  accustomed   as  they  had 


EARLY   MISSIONS  79 

been  for  long  centuries  to  the  oppression  of  Hindu  princes, 
welcomed  the  Portuguese  as  their  saviours  from  peril  and  as 
their  natural  allies.  In  the  spring  of  1502,  when  Vasco  da 
Gama  sailed  for  the  second  time  to  the  East  Indies,  he  cast 
anchor  in  the  harbour  at  Cochin,  and  a  deputation  of  the 
Thomas  Christians  waited  upon  him  to  place  themselves  under 
the  protection  of  the  King  of  Portugal  and  to  beg  of  these 
new  comrades  in  the  faith  aid  against  their  oppressors.  The 
Portuguese  desired  nothing  better  than  to  make  the  strong 
communities  of  native  Christians  a  strategic  base  for  their 
nascent  colonial  empire.  So  for  a  time  ecclesiastical  differences 
were  overlooked,  and  friendly  relations  were  established ;  in 
all  the  treaties  with  the  native  princes  special  regard  was 
paid  to  the  Christians.  At  Kranganur,  Cochin,  and  Quilon 
Portuguese  factories  and  forts  were  established.  And  Bishop 
Mar  Jacobus,  who  for  forty-five  long  years  had  held  a  position 
of  great  influence  among  the  Thomas  Christians,  was  so  well 
disposed  towards  the  Portuguese,  and  cherished  for  them  down 
to  the  day  of  his  death  in  1549  such  boundless  confidence  that 
on  his  death-bed  (as  we  saw  on  p.  33)  he  handed  over  to  the 
Portuguese  Governor  of  Cochin,  Pedro  de  Sequeira,  the  precious 
Privilege  Tablets  which  were  of  simply  incalculable  value  to  his 
Church.  Of  course  even  at  this  early  date  attempts  at  Roman 
Catholic  propaganda  were  not  unknown.  In  the  year  1500 
Simao  da  Guimaraes,  a  P'ranciscan  who  had  come  over  with 
Cabral's  fleet,  had  applied  himself  to  the  Thomas  Christians 
with  extraordinary  zeal.  Half  a  century  later  we  find  a 
Dominican,  Rodrigo  de  Sousa,  endeavouring  to  compel  the 
Church  under  his  care  at  Quilon  to  celebrate  mass  in  Latin. 
In  1593  a  zealous  Franciscan,  Vincenz,  arrived  in  Malabar  and 
founded  a  seminary  at  Kranganur,  to  train  up  a  new  generation 
of  Syrian  priests  in  the  spirit  and  atmosphere  of  Rome;  his 
plan  only  came  to  naught  because  neither  he  himself  nor  his 
brethren  in  the  Order  could  understand  or  teach  the  language 
of  the  Syrian  Church,  and  therefore  the  youths  whom  they 
trained  were  rejected  by  the  Thomas  Christians.  About  1550 
the  Portuguese  made  a  decided  change  in  their  policy  both  civil 
and  ecclesiastical  with  regard  to  the  Thomas  Christians.  The 
bold  plan  was  conceived  of  making  them  pliant  tools  in  the 
hands  of  the  Portuguese  by  thoroughly  reforming  their  Church 
according  to  Roman  Catholic  ideas.  To  accomplish  this  it  was 
necessary  either  to  get  possession  of  the  person  of  the  bishops  of 
the  Church  or  to  set  them  wholly  aside.  After  the  death  of  the 
feeble  Mar  Jacobus  there  ensued  a  wild  game  of  intrigue, 
strategy,  deception,  violence,  and  mendacity,  which  extended 
over  the  entire  latter  half  of  the  sixteenth  century,  and  which 


80  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

composes  one  of  the  darkest  chapters  in  the  history  of  the 
Romish  Church,  The  Jesuits  were  everywhere  the  moving 
spirits  and  the  most  unscrupulous  of  agents.  Very  many  of 
the  details  we  possess  concerning  this  period  are  involved  and 
unreliable,  because,  strangely  enough,  many  Romish  historians 
(at  their  head  Le  Quien,  Oriens  Christianus,  vol.  ii.)  have 
painted  the  condition  of  things  as  even  darker  than  it  now 
appears  in  reality  to  have  been.  In  the  year  1555  Mar  Joseph 
was  consecrated  Bishop  of  the  Thomas  Christians  by  the 
Patriarch  Ebed  Jesu,  Sulaka's  successor;  but  in  1556  he  was 
seized  in  Cochin,  taken  by  force  to  Goa,  and  then  put  on  a  ship 
bound  for  Portugal,  whence  he  was  transported  to  Rome,  and 
later  to  Bassein  near  Bombay,  where  he  was  interned  in  the 
monastery  of  the  Franciscans.  In  1558  he  again  reached  his 
see  at  Angamale ;  but  in  1567  he  was  for  the  second  time  taken 
prisoner,  and  again  transported  to  Rome,  where  he  appears  to 
have  been  done  to  death.  In  1559  a  second  bishop,  Mar 
Abraham,  turned  up ;  but  either  in  that  same  year  or  the 
following  one  he  was  forcibly  apprehended,  to  be  likewise 
instantly  sent  off  to  Portugal.  Mar  Abraham  would  appear 
after  a  time  to  have  turned  round  and  to  have  been  conse- 
crated as  Archbishop  in  Rome,  and  in  opposition  to  him  there 
appeared  in  1582  a  rival  bishop,  Mar  Simeon.  He  too  was 
craftily  taken  prisoner,  and  deported  to  Rome  via  Goa  and 
Portugal;  he  died  either  in  the  dungeons  of  the  Inquisition  or 
at  the  stake,  probably  after  a  seventeen  years'  imprisonment 
(1599).  After  a  first  unsuccessful  attempt  to  have  him  removed, 
the  Jesuits  left  Mar  Abraham,  the  Archbishop,  in  office  until 
his  death,  but  only  because  he  was  slavishly  subservient  to 
all  their  designs,  and  against  his  conscience  submitted  to  and 
abetted  their  romanising  efforts. 

Whilst  the  spiritual  leaders  of  the  Thomas  Christians  were 
thus  removed  by  violence,  the  Roman  Catholics  were  obtaining 
a  firm  foothold  in  the  country.  At  Cochin  a  Roman  Catholic 
bishopric  was  founded  in  1557,  and  occupied  first  by  a  Dominican 
and  then  by  a  Franciscan.  In  the  period  that  elapsed  after 
Mar  Jacob's  death  in  1549,  an  attempt  was  made  to  smuggle  in 
a  Romish  bishop,  Ambrosius  Theseus  de  Montecoeli  (?)  among 
the  Thomas  Christians  by  calling  him  the  "coadjutor  and 
successor  "  of  a  certain  newly  appointed  Archbishop  Elias  ;  he 
died,  however,  at  Goa  in  1557.  The  Jesuits  chose  Vaipikota, 
near  Cochin,  for  their  headquarters,  and  founded  there  in  1581  a 
large  seminary  for  priests,  in  which,  profiting  by  the  failure  of 
the  Franciscans,  they  insisted  on  the  study  of  the  language  of 
the  Syrian  Church.  They  further  founded  in  1579  a  Malabar 
printing   establishment   at   Cochin,   which   was   by   no    means 


EARLY  MISSIONS  8i 

Intended  to  publish  and  circulate  the  valuable  historical  and 
ecclesiastical  writings  of  the  Thomas  Christians,  but  rather  to 
spread  far  and  wide  amongst  them,  by  means  of  the  printed 
word,  Romish  thoughts  and  ideas.  The  Jesuits  preached, 
catechised,  and  did  pastoral  work  wherever  they  chose.  In 
1585,  at  the  third  Provincial  Council  at  Goa,  they  won  a  formal 
but  complete  victory  over  the  Syrian  Church ;  the  Archbishop, 
Mar  Abraham,  now  advanced  in  years,  was  forced  to  abjure  his 
Nestorian  errors  and  to  give  his  assent  to  all  decrees  that 
should  be  passed  with  a  view  to  reformation  in  his  diocese. 
But  even  this  did  not  satisfy  the  Romanists. 

When  Mar  Abraham  died,  at  the  end  of  the  year  1595  or 
early  in  1596,  a  new  Archbishop  had  just  arrived  in  Goa. 
This  was  Alexio  de  Menezes,  a  man  as  strong  in  character  as 
he  was  unscrupulous  in  morals.  He  was  firmly  determined  to 
shake  down  the  fruit  which  had  now  been  ripening  for  fully 
half  a  century  and  to  make  the  Syrian  Church  an  integral  part 
of  that  of  Rome.  Stern  orders  were  issued  to  all  the  Portu- 
guese ports  on  the  Indian  Ocean  that  no  Nestorian  bishop 
hailing  from  Mesopotamia  and  bound  for  Malabar  should  be 
allowed  to  proceed  on  his  journey.  These  orders  actually 
forced  a  bishop  who  had  travelled  as  far  as  Ormuz  to  return 
by  the  way  he  had  come  ;  another,  avoiding  the  Portuguese 
ports  by  journeying  through  North  India,  died  in  1600  at 
Lahore.  Thus  the  Thomas  Christians  found  themselves 
without  a  bishop ;  and  Menezes  succeeded  so  well,  by  threats 
and  bribes,  by  cunning  and  main  force,  in  silencing  the 
influential  Archdeacon  George,  who  had  been  appointed  by 
Mar  Abraham,  that  he,  George,  was  never  able  to  summon  up 
courage  to  make  a  decided  stand  against  the  strong-handed 
prelate.  George  declared,  it  is  true,  that  he  would  never 
swear  to  the  Roman  confession  of  faith,  nor  submit  either  to  the 
Pope  or  to  the  Archbishop  of  Goa ;  and  an  important  Synod 
at  Angamale  took  a  solemn  oath  never  to  allow  any  modifica- 
tion in  matters  of  creed,  and  not  to  recognise  any  other  bishop 
than  the  one  sent  by  the  Nestorian  Patriarch.  Menezes, 
however,  himself  hastened  to  Malabar,  won  over  several  of  the 
more  important  chiefs  to  his  side  by  political  negotiations, 
gained  by  a  skilfully  assumed  air  of  condescension  and  by 
suitable  presents  a  number  of  the  more  influential  Kattanars 
and  many  highly  respected  laymen,  obtained  for  himself  a 
majority  in  the  priesthood  by  ordaining  without  scruple  more 
than  ninety  young  priests,  who  of  course  became  creatures  of 
his  own,  and  with  every  adjunct  of  magnificent  and  princely 
display  made  a  triumphal  progress  through  the  country. 
After  these  preparations  he  summoned  the  famous  Synod  of 
6 


82  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

Diamper  (or  Udayamperur,  two  hours  distant  from  Cochin), 
which  was  held  from  the  20th  to  the  28th  of  June  1599,  and 
attended  by  153  Kattanars  and  660  laymen.  Menezes 
brought  his  very  compendious  decree  (it  contained  220  pages 
large  quarto  !)  all  ready  with  him,  and  used  his  craft  and  authority 
to  such  purpose  that  it  was  accepted,  signed,  and  sworn  to, 
practically  without  alteration. 

After  this  the  old  Syrian  Church  was  thoroughly  reformed 
after  the  Romish  model.  Scarcely  a  relic  of  its  ancient  ecclesi- 
astical usages  was  retained  except  the  Church  language, 
which  was  kept  for  the  time  being,  for  expediency's  sake. 
The  old  Church  literature  had  either  to  submit  to  thorough 
emendation,  in  the  Romish  sense,  or  be  burnt.  It  is  to  this 
vandalism  that  we  must  attribute  the  scarcity  of  reliable 
information  concerning  the  earlier  history  of  the  Thomas 
Church.  The  celibacy  of  the  clergy  was  introduced,  and 
the  hitherto  lawful  marriages  and  happy  family  life  of 
the  Kattanars  mercilessly  broken  up.  Confirmation,  com- 
munion in  one  kind,  statues  of  the  saints  on  altars  and  church 
walls,  and,  above  all,  the  unpopular  auricular  confession — in 
short,  all  distinctive  Romish  rites  and  ordinances,  were  intro- 
duced without  the  slightest  comprehension  of  the  historical 
uniqueness  of  the  ancient  Church.  In  saying  this  we  must 
not  overlook  the  fact  that  the  synodical  decree  put  an  end  to 
many  abuses  and  made  many  changes  for  the  better.  Thus 
the  Syrian  Church  was  divided  into  seventy-five  parishes,  and 
fast-binding  parochial  ordinances  were  made ;  the  marriageable 
age  for  young  men  was  fixed  at  fourteen,  and  for  young  women 
at  twelve  ;  arrangements  were  made  for  the  pastoral  care  of 
the  scattered  and  isolated  congregations  in  the  mountains 
and  in  the  south ;  and  an  active  missionary  propaganda  was 
inculcated. 

In  connection  with  the  Synod  a  careful  general  visitation 
of  all  the  churches  throughout  the  country  was  entered  upon, 
during  which  the  new  ordinances  were  introduced  to  every 
church  and  congregation.  To  crown  the  whole  work,  the  Jesuit 
Roz  was  in  1601  appointed  Head  of  the  Syrian  Church,  and 
consecrated  as  Bishop  of  Angamale,  and  in  1605  Archbishop  of 
Kranganur — a  new  position,  designed  to  replace  the  old  bishopric 
of  Angamale.  This  archbishopric  was  further  so  demarcated 
from  the  elder  diocese  of  Cochin  (created  in  1557)  that  it 
assumed  the  oversight  of  the  old  Syrian  Church  in  the  serras 
(hill  country)  and  of  the  Jesuit  Mission  at  Madura,  whilst  the 
i3ishop  of  Cochin  superintended  the  congregations  gathered 
by  Jesuit  missionaries  at  Travancore  and  on  the  Fisher 
coast. 


EARLY  MISSIONS  83 

(g)   The  Schism  in  the  Syrian  Chujrh  and  the  Stibseguent 
Development  of  the  Separated  Churches 

During  the  following  half-century  all  movement  was  retro- 
gressive. Whereas  from  1550  to  1596  the  influence  of  the 
Jesuits  and  the  Church  of  Rome  had  gradually  increased  to 
such  an  extent  that  finally  it  appeared  to  have  entirely  over- 
whelmed the  older  Church,  there  now  developed  decade  by 
decade  a  secret  animosity  against  the  Jesuits,  and  an  estrange- 
ment between  the  Syrian  Church  on  the  one  hand  and  the 
Portuguese  and  the  Church  of  Rome  on  the  other.  It  is  true 
that  in  1602  an  Archbishop  sent  by  the  Patriarch  of  Babylon 
was  unable  to  procure  for  himself  any  recognition,  and  was 
quickly  sent  about  his  business  by  main  force.  But  by  1620 
serious  dissensions  had  broken  out.  Archbishop  Roz,  on  the  eve 
of  a  long  tour,  had  appointed  the  Rector  of  the  Jesuit  College  at 
Vaipikota  as  Vicar-General,  and  had  thereby  mortally  offended 
the  aged  Archdeacon  George.  The  latter,  with  the  greater 
number  of  the  Thomas  Christians,  disowned  the  Archbishop 
and  exercised  for  four  years  all  episcopal  rights  himself.  Only 
with  great  difficulty  was  this  discord  brought  to  an  end. 
Under  Roz's  successors,  Etienne  de  Brito  (1624-1641)  and  the 
courageous  but  ambitious  Francisco  Garzia  (1641-1659),  matters 
came  to  a  yet  more  serious  pass.  The  Jesuits  felt  themselves 
the  actual  masters  of  the  country ;  they  bestowed  no  considera- 
tion on  the  native  Kattanars,  they  attacked  their  rights  and 
interfered  with  the  just  discharge  of  their  duties,  and  gradually 
they  endeavoured  to  replace  even  the  Syrian  language  of  the 
Church  by  the  Latin — with  which  they  were,  of  course,  better 
acquainted — in  order  to  win  over  one  parish  after  another,  one 
congregation  after  another.  They  were  so  little  loved,  nay  so 
detested,  that  in  1628  Archdeacon  George  made  a  direct 
request  of  the  Pope  to  allow  Dominicans  to  work  in  the  country 
as  well  as  Jesuits,  and  to  appoint  a  Dominican  who  was  well 
known  to  be  thoroughly  cognisant  with  Syrian,  Francisco 
Donate,  to  be  coadjutor  and  successor  to  Etienne  de  Brito. 
The  Jesuits,  all-powerful  in  Rome  as  well  as  in  India,  were  able 
to  foil  this  project.  In  1632  a  Synod  at  Eddapally  (Rapolin) 
addressed  a  complaint  to  the  King  of  Spain  and  Portugal  to 
the  effect  that  the  subsidies  sent  out  by  the  king  were  never 
distributed  to  the  indigenous  priests,  and  that  the  Archbishop 
filled  up  vacancies  amongst  the  clergy  in  purely  arbitrary 
fashion  and  contrary  to  all  precedent.  It  was  the  dull  rolling 
of  thunder  in  the  distance,  giving  notice  of  the  near  approach 
of  a  storm.  In  the  year  1653  a  new  bishop,  named  Atalla  {i.e. 
Theodore   or   Ahatalla),   who   had    been    consecrated    by    the 


84  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

Nestorian  Patriarch,  arrived  in  India  via  Surat  and  Milapur. 
On  August  3rd,  1653,  he  was  recognised  by  the  Portuguese  in 
the  Thomas  Church  at  Milapur,  was  taken  into  custody,  trans- 
ported by  sea  to  Goa,  and  there  dehvered  up  to  the  Inquisition 
and  burnt  at  the  stake.  The  Thomas  Christians,  who  at  the 
first  news  of  his  capture  had  marched  to  Cochin  armed  and 
25,000  strong,  in  order  to  set  Atalla  free  when  his  ship  touched 
there,  were  told  that  he  had  been  drowned  during  trans- 
shipment in  the  roadstead  off  Cochin.  At  the  news  of  this 
fresh  deed  of  violence  the  Christians  rose  en  masse  and 
assembled  at  Matanger  (Muttancherry),  near  Cochin.  There 
they  swore  a  most  solemn  oath,  at  the  foot  of  the  cross  before 
the  church,  that  no  Jesuit  should  ever  again  be  recognised  as 
bishop  in  their  country,  that  all  Jesuits  should  be  driven  out  of 
the  land,  and  that  the  Archbishop  of  Kranganur  should  never 
again  show  his  face  in  their  midst.  A  few  weeks  later,  the 
Council  of  a  convent  at  Mangate  (Alangata),  on  the  strength 
of  a  letter  written  by  Atalla  shortly  before  his  deportation, 
took  the  unheard-of  step  of  ordaining  as  bishop  Archdeacon 
Thomas,  George's  successor.  Of  the  200,000  Thomas  Christians 
only  a  paltry  400  remained  true  in  Rome.  Such  was  the  net 
result  of  TOO  years  of  intrigue,  oppression,  and  violence  on  the 
part  of  the  Jesuits. 

By  this  one  event  the  Romish  See  saw  the  entire  success 
of  150  years'  work  put  in  the  balance.  It  adopted  what 
was  perhaps  the  wisest  policy  under  the  circumstances : 
Archbishop  Francisco  Garzia  was  deposed,  all  consideration 
for  the  Jesuits  was  put  on  one  side,  and  four  barefoot  friars 
(Carmelites)  were  instantly  dispatched  to  Malabar  with  instruc- 
tions to  rescue  for  Rome  all  that  it  was  still  possible  to  rescue. 
Concessions  were  then  made  to  the  Thomas  Christians :  secular 
clergy — such  as  were  the  Kattanars  without  exception,  in 
contradistinction  to  the  monks  of  the  various  European  orders — 
were  made  eligible  for  all  ecclesiastical  offices ;  as  far  as  possible 
only  native  priests  were  to  hear  auricular  confession,  etc.  The 
Carmelites  were  received  in  Malabar  with  suspicion,  and  by  the 
majority  with  enmity.  But  they  went  to  work  very  skilfully ; 
they  negotiated  with  the  Portuguese,  with  the  irregularly 
ordained  bishop,  with  the  Kattanars  and  with  the  congregations; 
they  were  tireless  in  the  tours  which  they  made  from  one  end  of 
the  country  to  the  other,  holding  conferences  and  synods 
wherever  they  went.  One  of  them — an  Italian,  Joseph  of 
Santa  Maria — was  created  bishop  in  1659.  The  native  bishop. 
Mar  Thomas,  was  once  within  an  ace  of  falling  into  their  hands, 
having  been  enticed  into  their  immediate  neighbourhood  under 
pretext  of  negotiations  by  word  of  mouth.     And  the  end  of 


EARLY  MISSIONS  85 

these  machinations,  which  were  frequently  the  reverse  of 
honourable,  was  that  eight^'-four  congregations  again  joined  the 
Church  of  Rome,  thirty-two  only  maintaining  their  independence. 
Since  that  time  the  former  have  borne  the  name  of  the  "  United 
Syrians "  of  the  "  Romo-Syrian  Church,"  and  the  others  have 
retained  their  original  designation,  "  the  Thomas  Christians," — 
or  sometimes  simply  the  "  Syrians."  This  was,  for  Rome, 
concealing  defeat  by  victory ;  but  for  Portugal  it  was  too  late. 
The  very  year  of  the  Diamper  Synod,  when  the  Portuguese 
State  and  Church  were  at  the  very  zenith  of  their  power  beneath 
the  rule — soon  to  become  the  viceregal  rule — of  Menezes,  was 
the  turning-point  of  its  whole  colonial  history.  In  1600  were 
founded  the  two  great  commercial  East  India  Companies,  the 
Dutch  and  the  English — in  whose  hands  lay  the  future  of  Asia. 
The  seventeenth  century  was  the  epoch  of  Dutch  colonial 
expansion  and  conquest.  By  their  conquest  of  Colombo 
(May  1 2th,  1656)  the  last  Portuguese  position  in  Ceylon  fell  into 
their  hands.  In  1658  they  captured  Manar,  Tuticorin,  and 
Negapatam  ;  in  1 661,  Quilon,  the  most  southern  port  of  Malabar; 
in  1662,  Kranganur;  and  on  January  6th,  1663,  Cochin,  the  last 
Portuguese  stronghold  on  the  Malabar  coast.  By  these  losses 
the  supremacy  of  Portugal  was  definitely  overthrown.  If  the 
Portuguese  had  hoped  to  find  in  the  Thomas  Christians  a  firm 
base  from  which  they  might  proceed  to  the  conquest  and 
dominion  of  all  India,  they  had  only  their  own  crooked  policy 
and  that  of  the  Jesuits  to  thank  for  it,  that  the  Thomas 
Christians  would  not  raise  a  finger  to  save  them  from  their 
downfall.  From  this  time  forward  the  Syrian  Church,  the 
United  Syrians  as  well  as  the  Thomas  Christians,  disappears 
from  the  realm  of  politics  in  which,  greatly  to  its  own 
detriment,  it  had  played  so  important  a  part  for  a  century  and 
a  half 

In  the  newly  acquired  ports  the  Dutch  at  once  proceeded  to 
the  most  extreme  measures  against  the  Romanist  missionaries 
and  priests  and  against  the  churches  and  monasteries  they  had 
erected.  All  the  European  clergy  were  banished  from  the  land 
and  their  churches  and  homes  levelled  with  the  ground.  Only 
the  wily  Carmelites,  and  of  them  only  the  most  influential,  were 
able  by  strategy  and  falsehood  and,  at  times,  by  cleverly  making 
the  most  of  their  scientific  fads  and  hobbies,  to  secure  the 
protection  of  the  new  lords  of  the  country.  Actually  to  remain 
in  the  land  themselves  they  did  not  at  first  dare  to  hope ;  but 
their  bishop,  Joseph,  before  taking  his  departure,  consecrated  to 
the  episcopacy  Alexander  a  Campo,  a  Malabarese  Kattanar 
belonging  to  the  old  and  respected  priestly  family  of  the 
Palamattams  of  Korolongata.     However,  as  early  as  1673  the 


86  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

Dutch  Governor,  Hendrick  Adrian  van  Rheede  (1669-1677) 
accorded  the  Carmelites  permission,  upon  a  tablet  of  brass,  to 
found  a  great  establishment  for  their  Order  one  and  a  half  miles 
to  the  north  of  Cochin.  They  therefore  erected  one  in  a  grove 
of  palms  (Paramba,  near  Tattaraceri)  which  had  been  presented 
to  them  by  the  Rajah  of  Cochin.  In  missionary  literature  the 
place,  so  shortly  to  become  famous,  is  known  as  Verapoli.  The 
favour  shown  by  the  Dutch  officials  to  the  Carmelites  soon 
proved  to  be  of  advantage  to  the  United  (Romish)  Syrians  also. 
In  all  their  treaties  with  native  rajahs,  especially  with  the  Rajah 
of  Cochin,  the  Dutch  insisted  upon  their  being  recognised  as  the 
protectors  of  the  United  Syrians.  As  this  prerogative  included 
not  only  supreme  jurisdiction  over  the  Christians  and  powers  of 
sequestration  over  the  whole  of  their  property,  but  likewise  a 
right  of  revision  with  regard  to  all  new  taxes  which  the  various 
rajahs  might  levy  upon  their  Christian  subjects,  they  were 
thus  endowed  with  far-reaching  influence  upon  the  Christian 
congregations.  They  exercised  it  on  the  whole  both  with 
moderation  and  justice,  so  that  in  this  respect  the  Roman 
Catholic  Christians  enjoyed  a  highly  advantageous  peace — 
vastly  different  from  the  condition  of  the  Thomas  Christians,  who 
were  distrusted  and  held  at  a  distance  by  the  Dutch,  and  who 
therefore  were  able  to  defend  themselves  from  the  oppression 
and  extortions  of  the  numerous  native  rulers  only  with  the 
greatest  difficulty. 

Nevertheless,  the  following  century  was  not  a  happy  one 
even  for  the  Romish  congregations.  During  the  first  decades 
they  were  under  bishops  born  in  India,  as  Europeans  were  no 
longer  allowed  to  exercise  episcopal  functions.  Roman  Catholic 
historians  flatter  themselves  that  their  Church  was  the  first  to 
give  native  bishops  to  India.  Their  experience,  however,  of 
such  bishops  was  far  from  encouraging.  The  first,  Alexander, 
was  a  weak,  uneducated  fellow,  whose  sole  claim  to  respect  was 
that  he  belonged  to  the  highly  respected  family  of  the 
Palamattams.  When,  in  1677,  Rafael  Figuerade  Salgado,  a 
Portuguese  born  in  Cochin,  was  appointed  as  his  coadjutor,  the 
Palamattams  took  offence,  and  strove  against  the  Carmelites  both 
with  poison  and  with  treachery.  Rafael  himself,  a  crafty  and 
ambitious  man,  no  sooner  felt  his  authority  assured  than  he 
turned  sharp  round  upon  his  patrons  the  Carmelites,  and 
endeavoured  to  make  their  very  existence  miserable  by  every 
means  in  his  power.  Rafael's  enmity  and  open-handed  opposi- 
tion caused  the  Carmelites  to  implore  Rome  (1687)  for  another 
coadjutor,  who  should  be  ready  at  any  time  to  step  into  the 
episcopal  chair.  In  the  meantime  the  aged  Alexander  had 
appointed  his  relative,  George  a  Campo,  Vicar-General,  in  the 


EARLY  MISSIONS  87 

hope  that  in  due  time  the  latter  might  succeed  to  his  own 
bishopric.  Rafael,  however,  defended  himself  energetically  from 
all  these  rivals,  and  contrary  to  all  justice  and  church  discipline 
excommunicated  George,  There  were  thus  three  parties,  that 
of  the  Carmelites,  that  of  Rafael,  and  that  of  the  two  a  Campos, 
all  of  them  violently  opposed  to  one  another.  After  Rafael's 
death  in  1695,  his  successor,  Custodius,  a  former  Brahman — who, 
however,  died  in  1696 — was  equally  unwelcome  to  the  Carmelites. 
Thus  it  was  a  good  thing  when  in  1698,  on  the  intervention  of 
the  Emperor  Leopold  of  Austria,  the  Dutch  granted  permission 
for  a  European  Carmelite  to  be  appointed  bishop.  The  only 
title  open  to  him  was  that  of  Apostolic  Vicar,  for  the  Jesuit 
Archbishops  of  Kranganur  still  laid  claim  to  the  episcopal  office 
in  the  Syrian  Church ;  he  had,  however,  both  the  rank  and  the 
jurisdiction  of  a  bishop ;  his  see  was  the  already  mentioned 
Verapoli,  Thus  Verapoli  became  the  see  of  a  newly  created 
bishopric  held  by  a  European.  The  Carmelites  were  fortunate, 
at  any  rate  for  a  time,  in  the  choice  of  their  bishops.  The  first, 
Peter  Paul  of  Palma,  was  highly  respected  both  in  India  and 
in  Europe,  being  simultaneously  agent  and  ambassador  extra- 
ordinary of  the  Emperor  Leopold  in  Persia  and  in  the  Moghul 
Empire.  He  died  in  the  year  1700,  however.  The  second 
bishop,  Angelus  Franciscus  (1700- 17 10),  and  the  third,  John  the 
Baptist,  Bishop  of  Limira  in  partibiis  (17 14-1750),  served  the 
United  Syrians  very  well  indeed. 

Yet  once  again,  two  powerful  enemies  from  without  con- 
fronted these  men  also,  making  their  lives  bitter  indeed.  The 
Jesuits,  it  is  true,  had  been  discarded  by  the  Pope  in  1653,  satis 
ctfremonie,  and  Archbishop  Francisco  Garzia,  a  member  of  their 
Order,  had  been  deposed.  But  this  combative  and  unscrupulous 
Society  was  the  last  in  the  world  to  calmly  abandon  the  rich 
spoils  of  the  Syrian  Church  to  the  Carmelites.  They  were 
resolved  at  any  cost  to  regain  the  influence  they  had  lost  in 
Malabar.  In  view  of  the  political  convulsion  of  the  country 
and  the  petty  jealousies  of  the  various  rajahs,  it  did  not  prove 
a  difficult  task  to  erect  headquarters  for  their  machinations,  to 
replace  those  they  had  lost  at  Vaipikota.  They  erected  a  new 
Jesuit  Seminary  at  Ambalacada,  a  town  in  the  dominions  of  the 
Samorin  of  Calicut,  but  lying  very  close  to  the  districts  in  which 
the  densest  Christian  population  resided ;  and  they  further 
strengthened  their  position  by  founding  the  two  adjacent 
stations  of  Pucotta  and  Puttencherry.  Their  influence  became 
still  more  minatory  when  they  allied  themselves  with  another 
and  yet  more  dangerous  enemy  of  the  Carmelites.  By  the  Bull 
of  1600,  "In  supremo  militantis  ecclesiae  solio,"  the  rights  of 
patronage  over  the  bishopric  of  Cochin    as  well    as  over  the 


88  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

archbishopric  of  Kranganur  had  been  handed  over  to  the 
Crown  of  Portugal.  When  the  colonial  power  of  Portugal  had 
melted  away  like  a  mirage,  both  the  civic  and  ecclesiastical 
authorities  still  clung  to  this  gleam  of  a  vanished  glory,  and  the 
King  of  Portugal  steadfastly  maintained  his  right  to  appoint  the 
Archbishops  of  Kranganur  and  the  Bishops  of  Cochin.  This 
was  quite  harmless,  so  long  as  the  bishops  were  merely  titular 
dignitaries,  who  were  not  allowed  to  set  foot  within  their 
dioceses.  But  it  became  a  serious  matter  when  the  Jesuits 
allied  themselves  with  the  Crown  of  Portugal  in  order  to  have 
members  of  their  Order  nominated  to  both  sees,  and  used  this 
semblance  of  right  in  order  to  regain  by  craft  and  main  force 
their  ascendancy  over  the  United  Syrians.  Against  Arch- 
bishops Joao  Ribeiro  (1701-1716),  xA.ntonio  Pimentel  (1721- 
1752),  Alois  de  Vasconcelles  (1753-1755),  and  Salvator  a 
Regibus  (1756-1777)  of  Kranganur,  and  Bishops  Francois  de 
Vasconcelles  (1721-1743)  and  Clement  Jose  Leitao  (1745-1778) 
of  Cochin,  the  Carmelites  waged  long  and  fearful  war.  It  is 
a  strange  spectacle  to  see  the  two  Orders  engaged  for  seventy- 
five  long  years  in  the  direst  conflict.  The  Jesuits  fought  with 
any  and  every  kind  of  weapon,  irrespective  of  honour  or  fame. 
If  the  Syrians,  as  a  result  of  their  former  doleful  experiences, 
had  not  had  such  an  inborn  antipathy  to  the  Jesuits,  the  issue 
of  the  fight  would  have  been  still  more  serious.  Only  with  the 
suppression  of  the  Order  of  Jesuits  by  Pope  Clement  xiv.  did 
this  dangerous  rivalry  come  to  an  end.  But  even  then  the 
Carmelites  were  not  to  enjoy  the  spoils  of  victory.  Incited 
by  the  example  of  the  Thomas  Christians,  who  were  growing 
in  every  direction  under  the  rule  of  their  native  bishops, 
the  United  Syrian  Church  was  seized  (in  1787)  with  an 
ardent  desire  to  have  a  native  Malabarese  as  bishop.  So 
clamorously  and  rebelliously  did  they  demand  this,  that  the 
Carmelites  had  to  summon  the  Dutch  and  even  the  heathen 
rajahs  to  their  aid,  in  order  to  bring  their  congregations  into 
subjection  ! 

The  history  of  the  Thomas  Christians,  however,  was  likewise 
far  from  encouraging.  After  the  schism  they  had  made  Arch- 
deacon Thomas  their  bishop  by  a  somewhat  remarkable  method 
of  procedure.  This  Thomas  belonged  to  the  main  branch  of 
the  Palamattam  family  of  Korolongata.  Now  in  former  times 
it  had  certainly  been  the  hereditary  privilege  of  this  family  to 
have  the  archdeacons  selected  from  amongst  its  members  ;  the 
bishops  had  generally  been,  or  ought  to  have  been,  men  con- 
secrated by  the  Nestorian  Patriarch  himself — i.e.  they  were 
mostly  Mesopotamians.  Now,  however,  the  Palamattam  family 
went  a  step  farther  and  claimed  the  episcopal  dignity  as  its  right 


EARLY  MISSIONS  89 

also.  From  1653  down  to  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century 
an  unbroken  line  of  seven  or  eight  Thomas  a  Campos  had 
occupied  the  see,  the  last  few  of  them  bearing  the  episcopal 
designation  of  Mar  Dionysius.  But  there  had  arisen  a  great 
difficulty.  It  was  one  of  the  firm,  inviolable  traditions  of  this 
ancient  Church  that  a  bishop  could  only  be  consecrated  by 
another  bishop  or  by  some  still  more  elevated  dignitary. 
Where  was  this  ordinatory  bishop  always  to  be  found  ?  That 
was  the  ever  recurring  question.  In  the  first  instance,  in  the 
case  of  Mar  Thomas  i.  (1665) — called  by  his  admirers  "the 
Great" — a  bishop  named  Mar  Gregor  was  discovered,  who  had 
been  sent  out  by  the  Jacobite  Patriarch  at  Mardin,  and  he 
performed  the  ceremony  of  consecration ;  and  thereby  the 
unexpected  happened,  an  occurrence  still  wholly  inexplicable : 
the  entire  community  of  the  Thomas  Christians,  who  from  time 
immemorial,  probably  from  the  days  of  their  founders,  had  been 
Nestorians,  quietly  and  silently  became  Jacobites.  The  entire 
proceeding,  both  on  account  of  the  suddenness  with  which  it 
was  carried  out,  as  well  as  of  its,  apparently,  wholly  peaceful 
character,  is  enigmatical.  For  even  in  an  Oriental  Church  such 
a  conversion  from  one  extreme  to  the  other,  from  dyophisitism 
to  eutychianism,  is  without  all  precedent.  The  same  difficulty 
arose  about  the  consecration  of  each  successive  bishop.  In  1685 
there  arrived  at  one  and  the  same  time  three  important  Jacobite 
bishops,  amongst  them  a  Maphrian, — the  highest  dignitary  after 
the  Patriarch, — but  they  set  to  work  in  a  very  unlovable  fashion 
to  reform  the  congregations,  and  the  Maphrian  was  far  more 
anxious  to  be  recognised  as  bishop  himself  than  to  ordain  Mar 
Thomas  to  the  office.  In  1747  a  certain  Mar  Johannes  crossed 
over  in  a  Dutch  ship  from  Basra  in  order  to  perform  the 
ceremony  of  consecration ;  but  he  stole  the  silver  vessels  from 
the  churches,  stormed  and  thundered  against  the  images  of 
Christ  and  against  the  crosses — and  departed  without  ordaining 
Mar  Thomas!  In  1751  the  Mar  Thomas  of  that  day  ordered 
from  the  Dutch  East  India  Company,  at  a  cost  of  4000  rupees, 
a  consecrating  bishop  !  Three  were  soon  on  the  spot :  the  first, 
Basilius  Shekerallah,  who  was  appointed  by  the  Jacobite 
Patriarch  "Archbishop  of  Malabar"  {N.B.  for  28  congrega- 
tions !) ;  the  second,  Gregory  John,  who  wanted  to  be 
"  Metropolitan " ;  and  a  third,  by  name  Namentallah.  The 
three  Syrian  prelates  made  themselves  at  home  in  Malabar ; 
they  lived  on  the  best  of  everything  at  the  expense  of  the  well- 
to-do  congregations,  but  not  until  1772 — that  is,  after  a  residence 
of  twenty-one  years — did  it  occur  to  them  to  consecrate  poor 
Mar  Thomas. 

It  was,  however,  a  far  more  vexatious  and    serious  matter 


90  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

when  the  Nestorians  began  making  persistent  efforts  to  regain 
possession  of  the  province  they  had  lost.  Probably  Mar  Simon 
was  an  emissary  of  theirs  as  early  as  1701.  He  was  captured 
by  the  Carmelites,  imprisoned  for  twenty  years  in  Pondi- 
cherry,  and  mysteriously  died  in  a  monastery  there  in  the 
year  1720. 

More  dangerous  were  the  machinations  of  the  Nestorian, 
Mar  Gabriel  (1705-1730),  who,  now  in  the  guise  of  a  zealous 
adherent  of  Rome,  now  as  a  kindly  and  conciliatory  friend  of 
the  Jacobites,  won  so  considerable  an  influence  amongst  United 
Syrians  and  Thomas  Christians  alike  that  at  one  time  the 
former  were  on  the  point  of  renouncing  Rome  and  attaching 
themselves  to  Mar  Gabriel.  Forty-two  congregations — that  is, 
half  the  Romo-Syrians^cast  in  their  lot  for  a  short  time  with 
him,  and  the  Jacobite  bishop  felt  the  ground  so  shaky  beneath 
his  feet  that  he  wrote  again  and  again  to  the  Jacobite  Patriarch 
begging  for  priests  of  learning  to  be  sent  to  carry  on  the  fight 
with  Mar  Gabriel.  He  wrote  in  vain,  for  his  letters  fell  into 
the  hands  of  conceited  Dutch  savants  (Professors  Schaaf,  father 
and  son)  who  plumed  themselves  more  than  a  little  in  the 
scientific  world  upon  this  Syrian  correspondence,  but  were 
withal  so  ignorant  that  they  did  not  even  know  the  place  of 
residence  of  the  Patriarch  of  Antioch.  Mar  Gabriel,  however, 
died,  and  the  danger  passed  over. 

Whilst  both  the  Syrian  Churches  were  thus  distraught  by 
internal  unrest,  strife,  and  division,  there  came  a  great  change 
over  the  world  of  politics.  The  Dutch  had  not  recognised  the 
importance  of  the  ports  of  Malabar  for  the  domination  of  India  ; 
in  1746  a  Dutch  Governor-General  even  wrote  to  Cochin  that 
he  wished  the  sea  had  devoured  all  Malabar  a  hundred  years 
before.  They  were  therefore  content  to  allow  the  little  and 
hitherto  unimportant  state  of  Travancore,  by  a  long  succession 
of  generally  victorious  expeditions  carried  on  between  1733 
and  1 76 1,  to  unite  under  its  rule  all  the  tiny  states  into  which 
Southern  Malabar  had  hitherto  been  divided,  and  to  build  up 
therefrom  a  by  no  means  despicable  kingdom.  This  brought 
under  the  rule  of  these  rajahs  of  Travancore  almost  the  entire 
Christian  Church  of  Malabar.  It  is  gratifying  to  be  able  to 
add  that,  after  a  short  period  of  destruction  during  which  many 
old  churches  were  destroyed,  the  rajahs  were  for  the  most  part 
friendly  to  the  Syrian  Churches,  and  they  particularly  mani- 
fested their  favour  to  the  Romo-Syrians.  More  terrible  was 
the  fearful  hurricane  let  loose  upon  the  north  of  Malabar  by  the 
upstart  Haidar  Ali  and  his  fanatical  son,  Tipu  Sahib.  Haidar 
Ali  conquered  the  whole  of  the  west  coast  from  Mangalore  to 
Kranganur  in    the   years   1762-1766;   but  at  any  rate  we  can 


EARLY  MISSIONS 


91 


affirm  that  he  was  at  least  tolerant  towards  the  Christians. 
On  April  15th,  1790,  however,  his  bloodthirsty  son  Tipu  Sahib 
broke  upon  the  Christian  districts  to  the  south  and  south-east  of 
Kranganur,  and  for  five  weeks  raged  hither  and  thither  with 
unspeakable  cruelty.  Twenty-seven  churches,  amongst  them 
many  of  the  finest  and  most  ancient  in  the  country,  were  burnt 
to  the  ground.  Partly  by  the  sword  of  the  ruthless  Mu- 
hammadans,  partly  by  the  diseases  which  followed  in  the 
wake  of  the  invader,  there  died  at  this  time,  according  to 
contemporary  estimates,  fully  one-tenth  of  all  the  Thomas 
Christians.  From  this  knock-down  blow,  inflicted  upon  the 
venerable  and  ancient  Church  by  the  barbarity  of  fanatics,  it 
has  never  recovered  ;  its  wealth  had  vanished.  It  was  fortunate 
that  the  English  as  allies  of  the  Rajah  of  Travancore  regarded 
the  incursion  of  the  wild  hordes  of  Tipu  Sahib  as  a  casus 
belli  and  that  they  immediately  dispatched  an  army  to  Tipu's 
capital.  Consequently  he  was  obliged  to  withdraw  his  troops 
from  Travancore  as  quickly  as  possible.  The  English  attack 
it  was,  therefore,  which  prevented  the  two  Syrian  Churches 
from  complete  annihilation. 

Five  years  later,  in  1795,  the  English  captured  Cochin,  and 
this  proved  the  death-blow  to  the  rather  tame  Dutch  colonial 
power  in  Malabar.  The  Dutch  had  had  far  too  much  of  the 
small  tradesman  about  them,  they  never  rose  to  an  under- 
standing of  their  mighty  opportunities  and  duties  in  India. 
None  lamented  them  when  their  dominion  came  to  a  sudden 
end. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century  the  Latin 
Christians  in  Malabar  {i.e.  those  who  were  entirely  romanised 
and  who  had  abandoned  the  Syrian  language  in  church  services) 
numbered  about  100,000;  the  Roman  Catholic  Syrians,  who 
retained  the  Syrian  language  in  the  churches  as  well  as  other 
Syrian  customs,  90,000 ;  and  the  Jacobite  Syrians,  50,000.  The 
last  named  possessed  32-35  churches,  and  the  adherents  of 
Rome  some  85.^  As  we  have  it  on  the  best  authority  that  the 
population  of  the  entire  district  inhabited  by  the  Christians  did 
not  exceed  two  millions,  it  would  thus  appear  that  the  Christians 
with  240,000  souls  composed  about  12  per  cent,  of  the  entire 
community. 

^  This  is  the  estimate  of  Paulinus  in  1787.  Bishop  Middleton  in  1816  found 
66  Roman  Catholic  Syrian  churches,  and  18  belonging  to  the  Latin  Christians, 
with  a  net  total  of  80,000  adherents,  in  the  diocese  of  Verapoli  (Germann, 
p.  635).  Fenn  the  missionary  reckoned  the  independent  Syrians  in  1818  at 
70,000  {ibid.  p.  646),  and  Bishop  Wilson  of  Calcutta  in  1835  at  100,000  souls  {ibid. 
P-  695)- 


92  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 


(h)   The  Decline  of  Roman  Catholic  Missions 

The  number  of  Roman  Catholic  Christians  in  India  at  the 
close  of  the  seventeenth  century  is  said  to  have  been  two  and 
a  half  millions ;  this  is  one  of  the  tremendous  numbers  which 
we  come  across  now  and  again  in  the  histories  of  Roman 
missions.  All  means  of  checking  them  are  lacking  in  the 
materials  at  our  disposal,  and  so  far  as  we  know  it  has  never 
been  attempted.  In  the  Madura  Mission,  their  most  brilliant 
achievement  of  the  seventeenth  century,  it  was  computed,  as  we 
have  already  remarked,  that  they  had  about  150,000  adherents 
in  the  year  1703  (Mullbauer,  p.  237),  of  whom,  however,  we  can 
only  verify  46,482.  In  1750,  or  half  a  century  later,  Florentius, 
a  reputedly  zealous  bishop  of  the  divided  Syrian  Church  in 
Travancore  and  coadjutor  of  Malabar,  states  that  there  were 
about  150,000  who  belonged  to  the  Romish  Church  (Germann, 
p.  519).  To  this  must  be  added  the  great  Portuguese  colonies 
at  Goa,  Diu,  Bassein,  Cochin,  Negapatam,  etc.,  in  which,  accord- 
ing to  Dubois,  four-fifths  of  the  entire  population  was  nominally 
Roman  Catholic  {Basle  Missionary  Magazine,  1818,  p.  158). 
The  Christian  congregations  of  the  Augustinian  missions  in 
Bengal  numbered  in  those  their  best  days,  22,000  Christians. 
And  then  we  have  also  the  nominally  Christian  masses  of 
Ceylon.  Therefore  it  is  by  no  means  impossible  that  in  the 
year  1701  there  should  have  existed  about  2,000,000  nominal 
Catholic  Christians  in  India  and  Ceylon.  However,  during  the 
course  of  the  eighteenth  century  there  ensued  such  a  rapid, 
such  a  hopeless  collapse  of  Roman  Catholic  missionary  effort 
that  by  the  close  of  the  century  nothing  was  left  of  it  save 
ruins.  Four  principal  factors  contributed  to  bring  about  this 
rapid  downfall. 

In  the  first  place,  Romish  missions  had  advanced  along  with 
the  colonial  extension  of  the  Portuguese.  The  King  of  Portugal 
enjoyed  rights  of  patronage  over  all  bishoprics,  cures,  and 
missionary  appointments.  No  missionary  might  journey  to 
India  without  a  Portugese  permit,  none  land  there  save  from 
a  Portuguese  ship.  A  claim  was  even  raised  that  no  papal 
decretal  should  carry  legal  weight  in  India  unless  stamped  with 
a  Portuguese  "  placet"  {Allgem.  Miss.  Zeitschrift,  1903,  p.  522). 
Exactly  in  proportion  to  the  advantage  derived  from  this  union 
of  Church  and  State  as  long  as  the  star  of  Portugal  was  in  the 
ascendant,  was  the  extremely  serious  condition  of  things  the 
moment  that  star  began  to  decline.  We  have  already  seen  the 
obstacles  Portugal  placed  during  the  eighteenth  century  in 
the  way  of  the   landing   of  independent   orders  of  friars  and 


EARLY  MISSIONS  93 

other  missionaries  intent  upon  entering  the  country.  Portugal, 
however,  had  neither  the  means  nor  the  wish  to  provide 
adequately  for  the  needs  of  Indian  Christendom.  And  it  laid 
the  greatest  possible  hindrances  in  the  way  of  every  enterprise 
undertaken  without  its  specific  approbation,  whether  by  the 
Romish  Church  or  other  colonial  powers. 

Then,  in  the  second  place,  with  the  rise  of  Holland,  England, 
France,  and  Denmark  as  colonial  powers,  a  change  of  opinion 
was  continually  going  on  in  the  minds  of  the  Indians  themselves. 
Whereas  under  the  sole  sovereignty  of  the  Portuguese,  the 
Indian  people  had  regarded  it  as  their  fate  that  they  should  be 
forced  to  accept  the  religion  of  their  imperious  masters,  they 
now  came  to  see  that  their  acceptance  of  Christianity,  or  their 
ultimate  relapse  into  heathenism,  was  a  matter  to  be  decided 
by  their  own  free  will.  Precisely  in  that  district  on  the  west 
coast  where  the  Portuguese  had,  with  Jesuit  and  Franciscan 
help,  romanised  whole  provinces  by  main  force,  the  fanatical 
Muhammadan,  Tipu  Sahib  of  the  Mysore,  now  adopted 
similarly  forcible  measures  in  order  to  convert  the  masses  of 
nominal  Christians  to  Islam.  Can  we  wonder,  then,  that  he  had 
successes  so  great  as  to  be  humiliating  to  us  who  read  of  them, 
and  that,  according  to  the  Abbe  Dubois  {Basle  Missionary 
Magazine,  1818,  p.  169),  60,000  Christians  accepted  Muham- 
madanism  without  making  the  slightest  demur? 

Further,  the  leaders  of  the  missionary  movement  since  the 
time  of  Xavier  had  been  the  Jesuits.  Their  Order  was  sup- 
pressed in  Portugal  in  the  year  1759,  in  France  in  1762,  and  in 
1773  in  every  other  country,  by  Pope  Clement  XIV.  Whereas 
in  the  first  half  of  the  eighteenth  century  the  stream  of  Jesuit 
missionaries  proceeding  to  India  was  pitiably  small,  it  now 
dried  up  almost  altogether,  and  the  mission  fields  became 
desolate. 

And  finally,  the  blast  of  revolution  felt  throughout  Europe 
during  the  last  third  of  the  eighteenth  century  shook 
Church  as  well  as  State  to  its  very  foundation,  and  kept 
men's  minds  in  such  a  constant  state  of  excitement  that 
the  far-off  mission  fields  in  lands  across  the  sea  were  wholly 
forgotten. 

The  French  father,  I'Abbe  Dubois,  for  thirty-two  years  a 
missionary  in  the  Mysore,  waiting  on  December  15th,  181 5, 
in  a  letter  which  created  much  discussion  at  the  time  {Basle 
Missiotiary  Magazine,  1818,  p.  156  et  seg.,  Dubois'  Letters,  p.  57 
et  seq.),  describes  in  truly  disconsolate  wise  the  hopeless  condition 
of  Roman  Catholic  missions,  and  we  are  able  to  corroborate  the 
justice  of  his  remarks  from  contemporary  sources.  According 
to   his    account,   there    were    at    that    time    300,000    Romish 


94  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

Christians  in  the  archbishopric  of  Goa,  of  whom  some  200,000 
belonged  to  the  still  remaining  Portuguese  colonies  of  Goa, 
Daman,  and  Diu,  and  about  100,000  in  Ceylon,  70,000  in  the  arch- 
bishopric of  Kranganur,  of  which  the  Madura  Mission  formed  a 
part ;  60,000  in  the  bishopric  of  Cochin,  and  50,000  in  the 
bishopric  of  St.  Thomas  of  Milapur,  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
Madras.  All  these  were  under  Portuguese  patronage.  There 
were,  further,  the  cures  of  three  Apostolic  Vicars  sent  direct  from 
Rome  and  wholly  independent  of  Portugal  —  Bombay  with 
10-12,000  Christians,  Pondicherry  with  34-36,000,  and  Verapoli 
with  120,000;  and  finally  the  Mission  of  the  Italian  Capucines 
in  North  India  with  about  12,000  adherents.  That  gives  a  total 
of  about  660,000  Roman  Catholic  Christians,  barely  a  third 
of  their  numbers  a  century  earlier,  and  these  remnants  of  a 
better  day  were  in  such  a  truly  deplorable  state  morally  and 
spiritually  that  one  is  tempted  to  regard  the  pessimistic  descrip- 
tions of  Abbe  Dubois  as  being  almost  exaggerated  in  their  gloom. 
He  writes :  "  By  far  the  greater  part  of  them — in  fact  I  might 
say  the  whole — present  nothing  but  an  empty  shadow,  a  hollow 
mockery  of  Christianity  ;  for  in  the  long  period  of  twenty-five 
years  during  which  I  learnt  to  know  them  most  intimately  and 
lived  amongst  them  as  their  spiritual  director,  I  can't  say  that 
I  once  found,  anywhere,  one  single  downright  and  straight- 
forward Christian  amongst  the  natives  of  India  "  (as  above,  p.  166). 
"  Several  of  them  are  fairly  well  instructed,  and  know  what  are 
the  duties  of  a  Christian ;  but  far  and  away  the  larger  part  of 
them  live  in  the  crassest  ignorance,  and  their  entire  religion  is 
confined  to  the  observance  of  a  few  external  ordinances  and 
the  repetition  of  certain  forms  of  prayer  without  possessing  one 
single  spark  of  the  inward  practical  spirit  of  Christianity.  The 
Sabbath  is  either  but  just  remembered  or  w^holly  disregarded, 
and  all  their  religious  exercises  are  performed  either  simply 
because  of  custom  or  a  vain  desire  to  please  men  rather  than 
God"  {ibid.  p.  168).  In  1823,  Dubois  returned  wholly  dis- 
couraged to  France,  and  published  his  Letters  on  the  State  of 
Christimiity  in  India  (London,  1823;  Weimar,  1824),  in  which 
he  gave  a  connected  description  of  his  crushing  experiences, 
and  set  out  more  fully  his  convictions  thereon.  "  This  religion 
(Christianity),  which  formerly  was  an  object  of  indifference  or 
contempt,  has  now,  as  I  can  testify  from  personal  observation, 
^vell-nigh  become  an  object  of  abhorrence ;  it  is  certain 
that  for  sixty  years  past  not  one  single  proselyte  has  been 
made.  Before  half  a  century  has  elapsed  there  will  not 
be  the  slightest  trace  of  this  Christianity  remaining  among 
the  Hindus."  "  I  must  confess  it  with  shame  and  humiliation 
that  there  was  not  a  single  member  of  them  (the  Christian 


EARLY  MISSIONS  95 

in  his  own  spheres  of  labour)  of  whom  it  could  be  said 
that  he  had  accepted  Christianity  save  for  some  objectionable, 
secondary  consideration"  (cf.  Basle  Miss.  Mag.^  1825,  p.  137 
et  seq.)} 

^  It  is  almost  incredible  in  view  of  these  facts  that  Marshall,  whom  Janssen  praises 
as  a  classic  amongst  Roman  Catholic  historians,  should  write  in  his  Die  Christlkhen 
Missionen,  vol.  i.  p.  421:  "From  1760-1820  scarcely  a  single  thing  was  done 
on  behalf  of  Catholic  missions  and  their  numerous  adherents.  How  did  the 
Catholic  Christians  of  India  stand  such  a  test?  The  answer  of  history  to  this 
question  reveals  one  of  the  most  wonderful  and  surprising  facts  in  the  whole  history 
of  the  Christian  Church.  It  would  almost  appear  as  though  God  by  a  special  and 
wondrous  providence  had  determined  to  justify  His  servants  in  the  eyes  of  the  whole 
world,  as  though  He  had  left  their  work  to  apparently  inevitable  dissolution  and 
decay,  in  order  to  prove  that  neither  the  world  nor  Satan,  neither  persecution  nor 
treachery  nor  neglect,  had  it  in  their  power  to  extinguish  the  life  that  was  in  this 
Church.  And  when  after  sixty  years'  silence  and  affliction  they  were  sought  out,  a 
large  and  living  nucleus  was  discovered  where  only  the  bodies  of  the  dead  might  have 
been  expected.  ...  In  spite  of  this,  the  astounding  fact  was  brought  to  light  that 
after  half  a  century  of  total  (?)  neglect  there  still  remained  over  a  million  Catholics  v/ho 
with  inflexible  constancy  clung  to  the  faith  delivered  to  their  fathers.  .  .  .  This  was 
the  surprising  result  of  a  period  of  testing  that  is  without  parallel  in  the  chronicles  of 
Christendom."  More  honourable  Catholic  writers  like  Father  Huonder,  at  the 
Catholic  Festival  held  at  Crefeld  in  1898,  frankly  admit  that  Roman  Catholic  missions 
at  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century  lay  nearly  everywhere  in  ruins  [Allgem. 
Miss.  Zeitimg,  1898,  p.  481). 


CHAPTER  II 
THE  DANISH  MISSION 

I.  The  Historical  Background ^ 

The  historical  background  of  this  justly  famous  epoch  in  the 
story  of  missions  was  dark  and  complicated.  The  dominion  of 
the  Portuguese  which  in  the  sixteenth  century  had  been  undis- 
puted over  all  countries  bordering  the  Indian  Ocean  had  to  give 
way  in  the  seventeenth  to  that  of  the  Dutch ;  their  Indian 
possessions  dwindled  down  to  the  districts  around  Goa  and 
Daman,  the  island  of  Diu,  and  scattered  trading-factories  along 
the  west  coast.  The  sole  traces  of  the  extensive  influence  which 
they  had  hitherto  possessed  are  to  be  found  in  the  fact  that 
during  the  two  succeeding  centuries  European  half-castes  in 
India  were  bluntly  termed  "  Portuguese,"  they  spoke  as  a  rule  a 
kind  of  broken  Portuguese,  and  were  regarded  as  the  lawful 
province  of  Roman  Catholic  missions — no  very  favourable  testi- 
mony to  the  moral  condition  of  this  age  of  civilisation  and  to  the 
missionary  work  conducted  therein  !  Although  the  Dutch  in  the 
seventeenth  century  considered  themselves  lords  of  the  Indian 
Ocean  and  of  the  trade  of  India,  yet  it  was  only  Ceylon  that  they 
regarded  as  their  own  exclusive  territory.  As  regards  the  rest 
of  India,  they  were  not  unwilling  to  allow  other  Protestant 
powers  to  enter  into  commercial  competition  with  them  and  to 
build  factories  along  the  coast.  They  also  allowed  Catholic 
France  to  establish  itself  both  in  Northern  and  in  Southern 
India.  Thus  at  the  dawn  of  the  eighteenth  century  the  Indian 
coast-line  was  confusedly  dotted  with  the  factories  and  forts  of 
different  and  rival  nations.  Beginning  at  the  southern  extremity 
of  the  Tamil  coast  and  going  northwards,  we  find  the  Dutch 
quartered  in  Tuticorin  and  Negapatam,  the  French  in  Karikal, 
the  Danes  in  Tranquebar,  the  English  in  Cuddalore,  the  French 
in  Pondicherry,  the  Dutch  in  Sadras,  the  English  in  Madras,  the 
Dutch  again  in  Pulicat  (or  Palleakatta),  and  so  on. 

Then  the  star  of  Holland  began  to  fade ;  in  Europe  that  of 

^  See  Appendix  K. 
g6 


THE  DANISH  MISSION  97 

Louis  XIV.  was  in  the  ascendant,  and  it  appeared  to  his  enter- 
prising representatives  in  India,  the  brave  and  skilful  Generals 
Dupleix  and  La  Bourdonnais,  and  the  Viceroy,  Count  Lally, 
that  it  would  be  possible,  taking  Pondicherry  as  base,  to  found  a 
great  French  colonial  empire.  The  opportunity  for  embarking 
on  such  an  enterprise  was  all  the  more  favourable  since  Count 
Lally,  through  his  marriage  with  an  Indian  princess,  was  closely 
connected  with  several  of  the  princely  houses  of  India.  The 
only  rivals  the  French  had  to  fear  were  the  English. 

It  was  an  important  hour  for  India  as  well  as  for  England, 
when  on  the  last  day  of  the  sixteenth  century,  December  31st, 
1600,  Queen  Elizabeth  issued  the  Charter  "To  one  Body 
Corporate  and  Politik,  in  Deed  and  in  Name,  by  the  name  of  The 
Governor  and  Company  of  Merchants  of  London  trading  into  the 
East  Indies."  Thus  came  into  being  the  famous  East  India 
Company,  which  for  two  and  a  half  centuries  (until  1858)  was 
to  rule  the  fortunes  of  India,  and,  when  its  day  was  done,  to 
bequeath  to  England  the  most  precious  jewel  in  her  crown. 
There  was  a  striking  difference  between  the  first  Englishmen  in 
India  and  their  contemporaries,  the  devout  Pilgrim  Fatha?s  of 
North  America.  The  traders  who  went  to  India  did  not  concern 
themselves  in  the  slightest  degree  with  either  Christianity  or 
Church.  They  set  up  harems,  and  in  order  to  win  favour  in  the 
eyes  of  their  mistresses  they  did  not  hesitate  to  worship  their 
pagan  gods.  They  spent  eighty  years  in  India  before  it  occurred 
to  them  to  erect  the  first  Christian  church.  What  the  Hindus 
thought  of  them  is  shown  by  the  well-known  answer  given  to  an 
English  chaplain  :  "  Christian  religion  !  Devil  religion  !  Chris- 
tian much  drunk,  much  do  v/rong,  much  beat,  much  abuse 
others."  And  yet  there  were  devout  men  to  be  found  amongst 
the  Directors,  especially  during  the  seventeenth  century.  It 
was  regarded  as  a  notable  day  in  London  when,  on  December 
22nd,  1616,  a  native  of  Masulipatam  was  after  due  instruction 
baptized.  From  1614  onwards  a  few  chaplains  were  sent  out  to 
India,  the  first  of  them  proceeding  to  Surat  and  Masulipatam  ; 
in  1647  the  first  of  them  arrived  at  Madras.  But  their  stipends 
were  miserably  insufficient ;  and,  in  spite  of  an  express  prohibi- 
tion, many  of  them  entered  into  commercial  undertakings  in 
order  to  supplement  their  income,  and  the  greater  number  of 
them  reflected  little  credit  on  their  cloth.  By  the  Charter  of 
1698  the  Company  was  directly  charged  to  see  to  it  that  "all 
chaplains  in  their  East  Indian  service  shall  learn  the  language 
of  the  country,  in  order  that  they  may  be  the  better  able  to  instruct 
the  Gentoos,  heathen  servants,  or  slaves  of  the  Company,  and  of 
its  agents,  in  the  Protestant  religion."  But  precisely  from  that 
date  the  interest  of  the  Company  in  religion  died  down,  only  to 
7 


98  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

be  succeeded  during  the  course  of  the  eighteenth  century  by 
open  hostility  to  any  and  every  form  of  missionary  work. 

In  South  India,  where  the  English  first  came  into  contact 
with  missionary  work,  they  held  two  strong  positions  in  Madras 
(Fort  St.  George)  and  Cuddalore  (Fort  St.  David),  but  apart 
from  this  they  were  but  poorly  supported,  and  they  had  no  tried 
leader  fit  to  compare  with  the  French  generals.  Under  these 
circumstances  the  conflict  between  the  French  and  the  English 
for  Indian  supremacy  was  long  and  severe.  Sometimes  one  of 
the  frequent  continental  wars  of  the  eighteenth  century  would 
be  settled  in  India,  sometimes  the  English  and  French  troops 
would  come  into  collision  as  the  respective  allies  of  bellicose 
Indian  princes,  sometimes  the  two  rivals  would  take  to  fighting 
on  their  own  account.  During  the  two  decades  (1740-176 1)  the 
central  and  northern  portions  of  the  Tamil  country  especially 
were  never  free  from  the  echoes  of  war. 

In  1746  the  Viceroy  of  Bourbon  and  Mauritius,  Mahd  de  la 
Bourdonnais,  appeared  with  a  fleet  before  Madras,  and  by  a 
trick  captured  that  important  town,  the  principal  English  base 
in  India.  But  through  the  envy  and  jealousy  of  his  rival, 
Dupleix,  the  Governor  of  Pondicherry,  his  triumph  was  short- 
lived. He  was  accused  by  the  latter  of  high  treason  and  recalled 
to  France,  where  he  languished  three  years  in  the  Bastille  ;  when 
at  length  released,  he  quickly  sickened  and  died.  By  the  peace 
of  Aix  la  Chapelle  in  1748,  Madras  was  given  back  to  the 
French.  Dupleix  thought  the  field  was  now  clear,  during  the 
confusion  of  affairs  which  followed  the  death  of  the  Nawab  of 
Arcot,  Asaf  Jah,  in  1748,  to  establish  a  Franco-Indian  empire. 
But  he  also  fell  into  disgrace,  was  recalled  and  virulently 
attacked  at  home,  and  died  before  judgment  was  pronounced 
upon  his  case.  Ten  years  later,  in  1758,  Count  Lally  once  more 
took  up  the  ambitious  design.  He  captured  the  second  English 
stronghold,  Fort  St.  David  (Cuddalore).  But  in  1761  the 
English  captured  the  chief  stronghold  of  the  French,  Pondicherry, 
and  thereby  gave  the  death-blow  to  the  domination  of  the  French. 
The  voluptuous  and  shortsighted  monarchs  who  sat  on  the 
throne  of  France,  and  their  all-powerful  and  intriguing  mis- 
tresses, did  not  understand  that  they  were  surrendering  in  India 
a  large  part  of  the  world  supremacy  and  future  greatness  of 
France.  They  left  their  brave  generals  completely  in  the  lurch, 
and  by  the  year  1761  English  ascendancy  in  South  India  was 
assured. 

Inextricably  mixed  up  with  this  struggle  between  the  two 
colonial  powers  were  the  wars  and  intrigues  of  the  native 
kingdoms,  who  were  urged  on,  supported,  and  betrayed  by 
French  and  English  in  turn,  and  who  were  all  involved  in  ruin 


THE  DANISH  MISSION  99 

in  this  whirlwind  of  unrest  and  confusion.  In  the  Tamil 
country  there  were  at  that  time  four  kingdoms  of  importance. 
The  kingdom  of  the  Nawab  of  Arcot  (the  Carnatic),  which  was 
one  of  the  vast  fragments  of  the  former  dominion  of  the  Great 
Moghul,  included  the  present  districts  of  North  and  South 
Arcot,  Chingleput,  and  a  part  of  the  Cauvery  district ;  its  prin- 
cipal towns  were  Vellore,  Arcot,  and  Trichinopoly.  During 
the  whole  of  the  eighteenth  century  the  Nawab  played  an  im- 
portant role.  The  territories  of  Madras  and  Cuddalore  were 
originally  tiny  portions  of  his  wide  empire  which  he  had 
resigned  or  presented  to  the  English.  In  the  year  1801  the 
last  Nawab  was  dethroned  by  order  of  the  English  Governor. 

In  the  kingdom  of  Tanjore,  which  adjoined  that  of  the 
Nawab  on  the  south,  then  the  seat  of  the  Chola  dynasty,  after 
which  the  eastern  coast  is  named  (Coromandel  =  Cholaman- 
dalam,  z>.  Chola  Land), anew  kingdom  had  been  founded  in  1674 
upon  the  ruins  of  the  old  Chola  government  by  Venkaji,  a 
brother  of  the  bold  usurper  Sivaji,  the  founder  of  the  Maratha 
kingdom  ;  this  kingdom  maintained  its  existence,  despite  all 
storms  and  changes,  down  to  the  year  1855.  But  even  in  the 
second  half  of  the  eighteenth  century  it  was  so  weak  that  in 
1773  the  Rajah  Tulsi,  overcome  by  the  Nawab  of  Arcot  in 
league  with  the  unscrupulous  Government  of  Madras,  was 
deprived  of  his  power  and  cast  into  prison.  The  Court  of 
Directors  of  the  East  India  Company,  however,  did  not 
recognise  this  dethronement,  and  in  1776  they  set  Tulsi  again 
on  the  throne.  When  in  1787  this  indolent  prince  was  dying, 
at  the  early  age  of  forty-three,  in  consequence  of  his  debauchery, 
he  appointed  the  missionary  Schwartz  as  guardian  to  his 
adopted  ten-year-old  nephew,  Serfoji.  At  first  Schwartz  had 
desired  that  the  guardianship  and  regency  should  be  con- 
fided to  Amir  Singh,  a  half-brother  of  Tulsi,  and  Serfoji's 
uncle.  But  when  this  prince  of  intriguers  used  his  influence  to 
get  himself  recognised  as  Rajah  by  the  unscrupulous  English 
Government,  Schwartz  had  him  set  on  one  side,  established 
Serfoji's  right  to  the  throne,  and  allowed  himself  to  be  placed 
at  the  head  of  a  Council  of  Regency  for  the  kingdom  of 
Tanjore.  The  admiration  we  cannot  but  feel  at  the  disin- 
terested conduct  of  Schwartz  in  this  case  only  renders  more 
apparent  the  helpless  condition  of  the  kingdom  of  Tanjore. 

In  the  neighbouring  and  ancient  Pandyan  kingdom  of 
Madura,  which  lay  farther  to  the  south,  the  Telugu  dynasty  of 
the  Nayaks  had,  towards  1420,  built  up  a  fairly  strong  Govern- 
ment, which  reached  its  zenith  under  the  brilliant  and  pomp- 
loving  Tirumal  Nayak  in  the  seventeenth  century.  As,  however, 
in  the  course  of  time  the  feudal  lords  and  downtrodden  heads 


lOO  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

of  the  old  population  of  Madura  became  more  powerful  and 
sought  more  and  more  to  become  independent,  continuous 
dynastic  disputes  at  length  led  to  the  formation  of  the  little 
kingdom  of  Sivaganga  as  a  rival  state  in  the  eastern  part  of  the 
country.  From  this  time  the  power  of  the  Nayaks  gradually 
decayed,  until  at  last,  after  the  death  of  the  last  ruler  of  the 
Nayak  dynasty.  Queen  Minachiammal,  the  Muhammadans 
became  lords  of  the  land  in  1737.  The  remaining  members  of 
the  Nayak  family  were  captured  by  the  Muhammadans  through 
strategy  and  shut  up  in  the  Fort  at  Trichinopoly,  where  they 
were  cruelly  allowed  to  perish  from  thirst.  The  conquest  of 
the  country,  however,  brought  little  profit  to  the  Muhammadans. 
For  four  decades  did  the  Nawab  of  Arcot,  the  English,  and  the 
French  fight  for  the  possession  of  Madura,  until  at  last  the 
English  gained  the  upper  hand  here  also  ;  in  1772  Ramnad  was 
captured,  in  1790  the  rock  fortress  of  Dindigul,  and  in  1799, 
after  a  long  resistance,  Sivaganga. 

Into  this  scene  of  turmoil  and  strife  there  entered  yet  a 
further  disturbing  element  when,  in  1759,  Haidar  Ali,  the 
commander-in-chief  of  the  troops  of  the  Rajah  of  Mysore, 
established  himself  as  ruler  of  that  kingdom,  and  in  a 
few  years  (by  1766),  by  means  of  a  series  of  successful  wars, 
extended  the  boundaries  of  the  Mysore  far  up  the  west  coast 
of  India  and  a  long  way  inland  towards  the  east.  In  alliance 
with  the  French,  to  whose  interests  he  was  thoroughly  devoted, 
he  dictated  to  the  English  at  the  gates  of  Madras,  on  March 
29th,  1769,  the  terms  of  a  most  distasteful  peace.  From  that 
day  the  English,  who  had  previously  thought  themselves  sure 
of  the  supremacy  of  the  whole  of  South  India,  were  made  aware 
that  a  new  and  formidable  rival  had  taken  the  field,  with  whom 
they  would  have  to  fight  for  their  very  existence.  Thus  there 
began  a  new  and  fierce  struggle  lasting  for  over  thirty  years, 
first  with  Haidar  Ali  (until  his  death  at  Chittoor  on  December 
7th,  1782),  and  afterwards  with  his  less  fortunate  son,  Tipu 
Sahib  (1782-1799).  As  early  as  1784  the  latter  was  forced  to 
submit  to  the  Peace  of  Mangalore.  This  did  not,  however,  put 
a  stop  to  his  ambition ;  he  aimed  at  nothing  less  than  a  great 
alliance  of  all  the  Muhammadan  kingdoms,  in  order  to  secure 
for  them  the  mastery  of  the  world.  From  1789  to  1799  another 
succession  of  fierce  battles  was  fought,  which  only  terminated 
on  May  4th,  1799,  with  the  storming  of  Seringapatam  and  the 
heroic  death  of  Tipu  Sahib. 

Thus  throughout  nearly  the  whole  of  the  eighteenth  century 
the  Tamil  country  was  the  scene  of  war  and  the  noise  of  battle. 
It  was  no  favourable  field  for  the  peaceful  labours  of  the 
missionaries.     Whilst  often  enough  the  fortunes  of  war  have 


THE  DANISH  MISSION  loi 

opened,  or  have  helped  to  open,  doors  hitherto  closed,  and  to 
give  an  entrance  to  Trichinopoly,  to  Tanjore,  to  Madura,  and  to 
Tinnevelly,  just  as  often  has  missionary  work  been  interrupted, 
the  native  churches  have  been  scattered,  and  serious  obstacles 
placed  in  the  way  of  building  up  and  deepening  the  spiritual  life 
of  the  converts,  by  the  universal  chaos  of  war.  It  was  a 
gracious  providence  that  the  poitit  de  depart,  and,  for  half  a 
century,  the  headquarters  of  mission  work  in  the  south,  was  the 
little  Danish  settlement  of  Tranquebar.  Here  there  was  com- 
parative seclusion  from  the  storms  which  raged  without ;  here 
it  was  able  silently  to  take  firm  root  in  the  alien  soil  of  the 
Tamil  country  before  spreading  out  in  all  directions,  and 
directly  challenging  the  fury  of  the  tempest. 

In   1616,  at  the  time  when  the  Dutch  were  about  to  drive 
the  Portuguese  out  of  India,  a  second  East  India  Company  was 
founded  in  Denmark,  and  was  accorded  very  extensive  privi- 
leges by  the  King  of  Denmark.     Under  the  leadership  of  the 
youthful  admiral  Ole  Gedde,  the  Danes  landed  in   1620  on  the 
island  of  Ceylon  and  on  the  Coromandel  coast  of  India.     An 
attempt  to  found  a  colony  in  the  Trincomali  district  came  to 
naught  ;  but  in  the  Tamil  country,  on  a  narrow  strip  of  coast 
presented  to  them  by  the  Rajah  of  Tanjore,  the  Danes  built 
Fort  Dansborg,  called  in  Tamil  Taramkambacli,  or  Wave-town, 
of  which   the   familiar   "  Tranquebar "  is   a   corruption.     This 
pioneer  trading  station,  which  was  situated  within  a  very  short 
distance  of  the  rich  and  fertile  Cauvery  delta,  soon  developed 
into  a  very  busy  commercial  centre.     Only  a  small  amount  of 
territory  belonged  to  the  Fort ;  but,  being  a  fertile  rice  plain, 
it  was   sufficient   to  support   some   twenty  to  thirty  thousand 
Tamils    densely   packed    in    fifteen    or   tv/enty   villages.     This 
unpretentious  little  plot  of  ground  was  the  cradle  of  Protestant 
missions    in    India.     In    contrast  to  the  European  quarters  in 
other  towns  of  India — which  are  generally  sufficiently  roomy — 
the   bungalows  of  the    Europeans   at    Tranquebar  are  closely 
packed  together  ;   the  stately  thoroughfare  called  King  Street, 
in    which   they   are  principally  to   be   found,   has   almost   the 
appearance  of  a  city  of  modern  Greece.     It  was  intended  that 
Tranquebar  should  be  a  Danish  trading  colony  pure  and  simple, 
which  should  give  access  to,  and  a  share  in,  the  greatly  desired 
natural  and  manufactured  products  of  India:  thus  it  was  trade 
interests   that   determined    the   location  of  the  colony  in  that 
particular  place.     These    Danish   tradesmen,  moreover,  at  the 
beginning  of  the  eighteenth  century — just  like  the  English  at 
the  close  of  that  same  century — were  convinced  that  nothing 
could    be    more   detrimental   to   their   selfish   gains   than    any 
intermeddlinsf  with  the  relieion  of  the  natives,  and  hence  from 


102  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

the  very  beginning  the  determined  opponents  of  missionary- 
work  sought  by  every  means  in  their  power  to  prevent 
it  being  started. 


2.  Early  Years  (1706- 1720) 

Frederick  IV.,  the  religiously  inclined  King  of  Denmark,  had, 
while  he  was  still  Crown  Prince,  conceived  the  idea  of  sending 
the  gospel  to  the  heathen  in  the  Danish  transmarine  possessions. 
These  possessions  consisted  of  the  Lesser  Antilles,  a  part  of  the 
West  Indian  group,  the  settlements  on  the  Guinea  coast  of 
West  Africa,  and  quite  recently  Tranquebar.  Hitherto  nothing 
whatever  had  been  done  for  the  cause  of  missions.  It  was 
indeed  the  custom  to  have  a  Lutheran  clergyman  in  every 
Danish  factory,  and  in  Tranquebar  itself  there  were  two ;  but 
there  is  not  the  slightest  trace  of  their  ever  having  given  a 
thought  to  the  spiritual  welfare  of  the  natives.  Their  only 
activity  in  this  direction  was  that  they  would  often  summarily 
baptize  the  numerous  natives  who  had  been  captured  in  the 
never-ending  piratical  expeditions,  and  who  would  then  be  sold 
up  country  as  slaves  for  the  ridiculous  price  of  from  five  to  ten 
piastres.  One  of  the  Danish  clergymen,  Magister  Jacob  Worm, 
had  enjoyed  at  home  a  certain  popularity  as  a  poet,  but  on 
account  of  sundry  abusive  effusions  concerning  the  king  and 
his  methods  of  government,  had  been  banished  to  Tranquebar. 
On  his  gravestone  he  lays  claim  to  the  title  of  "  the  Danish 
Apostle  of  India."  But  although  he  had  lived  in  Tranquebar 
till  1694,  the  missionaries  who  arrived  there  ten  years  later 
found  no  single  trace  of  his  labours.  King  Frederick  IV. 
thoroughly  believed  in  the  Lutheran  teaching  that  it  is  one  of 
the  duties  devolving  upon  monarchs  to  make  provision  for  the 
Christianising  of  their  non-Christian  subjects.  He  applied  to 
his  court  preacher.  Dr.  Lutkens,  who  had  been  transferred  in 
1704  from  Berlin  to  Copenhagen,  and  commissioned  him  to 
provide  several  missionaries.  As  he  could  find  no  suitable 
persons  in  Denmark,  Lutkens  wrote  to  his  friends  in  Berlin, 
and  by  their  means  Bartholomaus  Ziegenbalg  and  Heinrich 
Pliitschau  entered  the  service  of  Denmark  as  "royal  Danish 
missionaries." 

Bartholomaus  Ziegenbalg,  born  on  June  24th,  1683,  at  the 
little  town  of  Pulsnitz  in  the  Ober  Lausitz,  had  early  in  life 
lost  his  parents  and  all  his  near  relatives,  save  only  one  elder 
sister.  He  was  of  such  a  delicate  constitution  that  in  spite 
of  all  his  consuming  zeal  for  learning  he  was  continually  forced 
by  ill-health  to  interrupt  his  studies,  and  seriously  to  consider 


THE  DANISH  MISSION  103 

whether  he  had  not  better  retire  to  the  quietness  of  his  native 
town,  and  there  become  a  small  farmer.  Whilst  attending  the 
"  Gymnasium  "  at  Gorlitz  at  the  age  of  sixteen  he  was  soundly- 
converted  to  God,  and  from  that  time  he  was  on  terms  of  close 
intimacy  with  the  leaders  of  the  Pietist  movement,  especially 
with  A.  H.  Francke  and  Joachim  Lange.  While  studying  for 
a  short  time  at  Halle,  a  word  of  Abbot  Breithaupt  fixed  itself 
indelibly  in  his  mind :  "  If  anyone  leads  a  single  soul  belonging 
to  a  heathen  people  to  God,  it  is  as  great  a  deed  as  though  he 
were  to  win  a  hundred  souls  in  Europe,  since  the  latter  daily 
enjoy  sufficient  opportunities  of  being  converted."  Greatly 
harassed  by  religious  scruples,  it  was  only  at  the  urgent  solicita- 
tions of  his  friends  that  he  consented  to  obey  the  call  to  the 
mission  field.  He  derived  no  small  consolation  from  the  fact 
that  his  friend  and  fellow-student  Heinrich  Plutschau  of 
Wesenberg,  in  Mecklenburg  Strelitz,  a  man  some  six  years 
his  senior,  was  to  accompany  him.  There  was  no  lack  of 
opposition  to  their  project  from  the  very  beginning.  The 
Danish  Bishop,  Dr.  Bornemann,  who  had  no  sympathy  with 
Pietism,  caused  them  both  to  fail  in  their  examination,  and  it 
was  only  on  a  peremptory  order  from  the  king  that  a  second 
examination  was  held  in  which  both  candidates  did  well. 
Their  missionary  project  met  with  little  save  contempt  or 
ominous  shaking  of  the  head.  And  the  East  India  Company, 
who  regarded  the  king's  plan  of  sending  out  these  missionaries 
into  its  factories  as  an  arbitrary  usurpation  of  its  rights, 
dispatched  in  advance  secret  instructions  to  their  officials  to  lay 
as  many  obstacles  as  possible  in  the  way  of  the  inconvenient 
newcomers.  The  two  young  missionaries  sailed  for  India  on 
the  Sophie  Hedwig,  and  on  July  9th,  1706,  they  arrived  in  the 
roadstead  of  Tranquebar.  This  is  the  birthday  of  Protestant 
missions  in  India. 

A  most  unpleasant  reception  awaited  them.  Although  they 
had  already  met  with  much  opposition  on  the  part  of  the 
captain  and  the  Lutheran  chaplain  on  board  ship  during  the 
voyage  out,  matters  were  far  worse  when  they  came  to  dis- 
embark. First  of  all  they  had  to  wait  several  days  on  board, 
because  no  one  would  get  them  a  boat  to  take  them  ashore. 
Then  a  friend  took  them  on  board  another  ship,  from  which  they 
set  off  through  the  foaming  surf  in  a  little  boat.  When  they 
were  at  last  carried  ashore  by  Tamils,  the  captain  threatened  the 
latter  with  blows,  and  made  for  the  missionaries  with  an  uplifted 
stick.  But  they  had  landed  ;  it  was  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning. 
They  were  now  forced  to  wait  outside  the  town  until  seven  in 
the  evening.  At  four  o'clock  the  Commander  of  the  place, 
J.   C.   Hassius,  came  out  to  meet  them,  accompanied   by  the 


I04  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

magistrates  and  the  two  Danish  preachers.     He  asked  them 
what  they  wanted  and  who  had  sent  them. 

When  they  showed  the  king's  letter  and  seal,  he  became 
suddenly  quiet,  and  thought  they  might  perhaps  help  at  the 
Danish  school ;  apart  from  that,  he  knew  nothing  they  were  fit 
for.  The  two  clerg}'men  also  gave  them  a  freezing  reception. 
Night  fell;  the  officials  strode  back  into  the  town,  and  the 
missionaries  followed  them  as  far  as  the  market-place.  There 
they  were  left  alone,  but  at  length  a  secretary  took  pity  on  them 
and  brought  them  to  the  house  of  his  father-in-law,  who  spoke 
German. 

This  reception  was  unfortunately  characteristic  of  what  they 
had  to  expect  from  the  Danish  authorities  in  the  future. 
Hassius  scarcely  needed  the  secret  orders  of  the  Company  to 
make  him  place  every  obstacle  and  vexation  in  the  path  of  the 
missionaries.  For  the  most  insignificant  reasons  he  would  have 
them  publicly  arrested,  and  heap  upon  them  the  bitterest 
reproaches  in  the  presence  of  both  white  man  and  native. 
When  Pliitschau,  in  a  sermon  preached  on  New  Year's  Day 
1707,  quite  inadvertently  spoke  of  the  sins  of  Christians  and 
the  omissions  of  Christian  Governments,  both  missionaries  were 
the  same  afternoon  brought  before  the  Governor  and  charged 
with  inciting  to  rebellion.  Hassius  struck  Ziegenbalg  on  the 
breast  and  forbade  such  "dogs"  having  any  further  communi- 
cation with  him.  When  another  time  Pliitschau  had  taken  an 
interest  in  the  illegitimate  child  of  one  of  the  soldiers,  Hassius, 
in  the  presence  of  Dutch  officers  and  the  clergymen,  threatened 
him  with  a  thrashing  and  degradation  from  his  office.  Even 
the  natives  who  looked  on  during  these  "judicial  proceedings" 
shook  their  heads  at  such  unheard-of  violence  towards  ministers 
of  religion.  When  a  short  time  afterwards  Ziegenbalg  forwarded 
to  Hassius  a  petition  on  behalf  of  an  oppressed  widow  that 
was  perhaps  not  drawn  up  in  strictly  legal  form,  Hassius 
determined  to  allow  his  fury  full  play.  He  discourteously  sent 
a  slave  to  summon  the  missionary  to  his  presence.  When 
Ziegenbalg  refused  to  answer  a  message  communicated  in 
such  a  way,  the  guard  suddenly  appeared  before  his  lodgings 
with  loaded  muskets,  and  conducted  him  in  his  dressing-gown 
and  slippers  to  the  fortress,  where  the  drawbridge  was  im- 
mediately pulled  up  behind  him,  as  if  some  conspiracy  had 
been  discovered.  The  unfortunate  man  was  sentenced  to  four 
months'  imprisonment,  being  confined  in  a  tiny  room  near  the 
kitchen,  in  which  he  was  well-nigh  suffocated,  and  kept  under 
the  most  rigid  surveillance.  No  one  was  allowed  to  visit  him, 
and  he  was  even  denied  pen  and  ink.  The  military  and  other 
officials  were  commanded  to  have  no  kind  of  intercourse  with 


THE  DANISH   MISSION  105 

those  "  traitors  to  their  country,"  the  missionaries.  As  PKitschau, 
however,  was  bold  enough  in  his  next  German  sermon  to  read 
out  passages  concerning  Jezebel,  Antiochus,  and  Herod,  not 
only  was  preaching  in  German  stopped,  but  all  contributions 
for  the  support  of  the  missionaries  were  forbidden,  and  the 
tiny  Church  that  was  being  formed  dispersed  and  scattered. 
In  other  directions,  too,  Hassius  placed  obstacles  in  the  way  of 
the  missionaries.  He  watched  their  home  correspondence  with 
suspicious  eyes  :  sometimes  he  opened  their  letters,  or  extracted 
portions  which  he  destroyed.  If  they  washed  to  go  inland,  he 
sought  by  strategy  or  force  to  prevent  their  being  admitted 
into  English  or  Dutch  colonies.  When  they  wished  to  return 
to  Denmark  in  order  to  obtain  redress  of  their  grievances,  he 
tried  in  the  most  outrageous  ways  to  stop  them.  In  a  word, 
ever}'thing  he  could  do  to  hinder  the  starting  of  missions  was 
done. 

In  other  respects,  too,  circumstances  were  in  many  ways  un- 
favourable for  the  two  young  and  inexperienced  missionaries. 
They  had  been  appointed  for  five  years  only,  and  as  one  year 
had  to  be  allowed  for  the  journey  out  and  another  for  the 
journey  home,  they  intended  at  first  to  remain  in  Tranquebar 
for  only  three  years.  Was  it  worth  while,  then,  to  start 
missionary  work  on  any  considerable  scale,  especially  in  view 
of  the  language  difficulty?  Even  Danish  was  a  foreign 
language  to  them.  The  numerous  half-castes  spoke  broken 
Portuguese,  which  was  in  addition  the  language  of  commerce, 
and  this  also  they  were  forced  to  learn.  But  they  soon  per- 
ceived that  this  did  not  help  them  to  get  any  nearer  to  the 
natives.  To  do  this  there  was  only  one  course  open  to  them — 
they  must  acquire  the  difficult  Tamil  language,  which  none  of 
the  Danish  clergymen  and  scarcely  any  of  the  Danish  officials 
had  yet  learnt.  Besides,  it  had  come  to  be  regarded  as  a 
matter  of  course  in  Tranquebar  that  the  Danes,  the  Dutch,  and 
the  German  mercenaries  should  adhere  to  the  Dutch  preachers, 
whilst  the  half-castes,  the  illegitimate  offspring  of  these  same 
Europeans,  were  without  more  ado  abandoned  to  the  Roman 
Catholics.  The  Portuguese  priest.  Pater  Guevara,  jealously 
maintained  this  supposed  right,  and  regarded  it  as  a  wholly 
unjustifiable  incursion  into  his  own  sphere  of  influence  when 
the  missionaries  began  to  concern  themseh^es  about  these 
half-castes,  the  so-called  "  Portuguese " ;  as  he  was  a  friend 
of  Hassius,  he  did  all  in  his  power  to  incense  the  already 
infuriated  Governor  against  his  rivals. 

The  missionaries  each  received  a  yearly  stipend  of  two 
hundred  Danish  thalers.  This  was  just  sufficient  to  supply 
them  with  the  necessaries  of  life ;   but  how  with  such  a  sum 


io6  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

were  they  to  buy  mission  houses,  to  build  churches,  and  to 
found  schools,  etc.?  On  May  ist,  1708,  a  Danish  ship  cast 
anchor  in  the  roadstead,  and  a  letter  from  Dr.  Liitkens  informed 
the  missionaries  that  the  ship  had  on  board  two  thousand 
thalers  for  their  use.  But  through  the  carelessness  of  the 
drunken  captain  the  boat  which  was  bringing  the  money 
ashore  was  capsized  and  all  its  contents  were  lost ;  and 
although  the  water  at  the  spot  was  only  six  feet  deep,  and 
the  money  might  therefore  easily  have  been  found,  yet  Hassius 
and  the  other  officials,  who  found  a  fiendish  joy  in  this  severe 
loss  of  the  missionaries,  refrained  from  any  energetic  search  for 
the  money,  which  was  never  recovered.  From  1710-1713  no 
Danish  ship  put  into  Tranquebar,  the  missionaries  were  almost 
cut  off  from  all  communication  with  Europe  and  were  at  the 
mercy  of  the  capricious  Governor.  To  complete  the  tale  of  their 
misfortunes,  out  of  three  assistants  who  were  sent  out  to  them 
in  1709,  one  Bovingh  was  a  narrow-minded  "orthodox"  clergy- 
man, a  Dane  to  the  backbone,  possessing  not  the  remotest 
degree  of  sympathy  with  the  German  Pietists.  As  long  as  he 
remained  in  Tranquebar  he  was  a  constant  source  of  trouble  to 
the  older  missionaries  ;  and  when  in  171 1  he  definitely  quitted 
the  Tamil  country — where  he  had  never  made  himself  at  home — 
he  brought  the  most  scandalous  charges  against  them  in  a  Diary 
which  he  published  in  Denmark  and  in  Germany.  When  we 
remember  that  in  addition  to  all  these  things  Ziegenbalg  was 
frequently  prostrated  by  sickness,  and  that  in  171 1  Plutschau 
returned  to  Germany,  never  again  to  revisit  Tranquebar,  we  can 
call  it  nothing  but  a  miracle  that,  in  spite  of  all  these  trials 
and  disappointments.  Christian  missions  should  ever  have  gained 
a  foothold  in  Tranquebar.  The  credit  for  this  is  in  the  main 
due  to  the  tireless  industry  and  devoted  labours  of  Ziegenbalg. 
He  was  the  real  founder  of  the  Danish  Tamil  Mission. 

Besides  the  pastoral  care  which  they  bestowed  on  the  de- 
graded and  savage  German  and  Dutch  mercenaries,  Ziegenbalg 
and  his  friends — for  in  1709,  in  addition  to  Bovingh,  who  has 
been  already  mentioned  alDove,  two  other  missionaries  had  come 
out,  Jordan  who  was  not  yet  ordained,  and  the  energetic  and 
able  Grijndler — set  themselves  with  the  utmost  diligence  to  the 
task  of  instructing  the  half-castes  and  of  preaching  to  the 
natives  as  soon  as  they  were  able  in  the  Tamil  tongue. 
Ziegenbalg  especially,  with  his  gift  for  languages  and  his  tire- 
less industry,  obtained  a  complete  mastery  of  Tamil.  That 
he  took  an  interest  in  science  and  had  a  thorough  grasp  of 
missionary  problems  was  proved  by  the  fact  that  he  began 
almost  at  once  to  read  deeply  both  in  Tamil  literature  and  in 
Tamil  philosophy,  and    to   produce  writings  with  the  double 


THE  DANISH  MISSION  107 

object  of  facilitating  the  entrance  of  his  colleagues  and  those 
who  should  come  after  him  into  this  new  and  strange  world  of 
ideas,  and  of  stimulating  in  wider  circles  at  home  interest  and 
sympathy  in  this  ancient  Indian  civilisation  and  people.  Un- 
fortunately his  friends  at  Halle  cared  very  little  for  these 
scientific  pursuits,  and  Ziegenbalg's  books  and  writings  re- 
mained largely  unpublished.  His  most  valuable  treatise,  The 
Genealogy  of  the  Deities  of  Malabar,  first  saw  the  light  in 
1867,  when  it  was  published  by  his  biographer,  Germann. 
That  even  after  the  lapse  of  a  century  and  a  half  the  book  was 
not  out  of  date  was  shown  by  the  fact  that  the  German  edition 
was  almost  immediately  followed  by  one  in  English.^  As  soon 
as  he  had  obtained  a  fair  mastery  of  the  language,  Ziegenbalg 
began  to  prepare  works  in  Tamil.  At  first  his  progress  was 
painfully  slow  ;  the  only  method  of  obtaining  duplicate  copies 
was  to  have  them  copied  out  by  hand.  This  was  not  only  very 
expensive  but  also  a  source  of  much  anxiety,  as  the  native 
copyists  took  a  delight  in  introducing  mistakes  into  the  most 
important  passages.  In  1712  a  small  press  with  Roman  type 
was  sent  out,  and  in  1713  one  with  Tamil  characters.  Literary 
work  could  now  be  conducted  on  more  extended  lines. 
Ziegenbalg  began  by  publishing  a  few  sermons ;  then  came 
the  small  Lutheran  Catechism  and  several  tracts  and  school- 
books.  But  from  the  very  beginning  he  attached  chief  im- 
portance to  a  translation  of  the  Holy  Scriptures.  With  much 
prayer  he  set  about  this  work,  which  was  laid  very  earnestly 
upon  his  heart,  and  his  unceasing  diligence  enabled  him  to 
finish  the  whole  of  the  New  Testament  and  the  Old  as  far  as 
the  Book  of  Ruth.  He  neither  spoke  nor  wrote  a  classical  or 
especially  well-sounding  Tamil ;  his  Roman  Catholic  con- 
temporary and  opponent,  the  eminent  but  deceitful  Jesuit 
linguist,  Beschi,  had  an  easy  task  in  exposing  translations  of 
this  character  to  ridicule,  calling  it  "  horrid  gibberish,"  and 
declaring  that  "when  one  read  the  first  line  of  it  one's  eyes 
became  inflamed,  one's  tongue  dried  up,  and  one's  ears  inclined 
to  burst :  people  looked  at  one  another  and  broke  out  in  loud 
laughter.'''^  But  for  all  that,  Ziegenbalg's  Tamil  was  intelligible 
and  faithful  and  was  widely  read,  and  it  became  the  foundation 
of  the  later  classical  translation  of  the  Bible. 

In  addition  to  this  literary  work  Ziegenbalg  was  diligent  in 
preaching  the  Word  to  the  heathen.  In  front  of  the  house  he 
had  bought  in  the  middle  of  the  native  portion  of  Tranquebar, 
he  built  a  pandal,  or  projecting  roof  of  bamboo  ;  under  this  he 

^  See  Appendix  L. 

"From  the  anti-Lutheran  diatribe   (in  Tamil),   "The  Lutheran  Swarm,"  Basle 
Missionary  Magazitie,  1868,  p.  102. 


io8  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

assembled  thrice  in  the  week,  or  oftener,  a  more  or  less  numerous 
company  of  most  attentive  listeners.  Those  who  preferred  to 
speak  with  him  privately  in  his  study  found  him  ever  ready  to  help 
them.  In  the  second  year  of  his  residence  at  Tranquebar  he 
founded  a  school  for  the  "  Portuguese"  and  native  children,  and 
combined  it  with  a  boarding-house,  where  he  declared  himself 
ready  to  receive  and  maintain  free  of  charge  all  children 
entrusted  to  him,  and  to  give  them  a  Christian  education. 
Pretty  soon  a  small  congregation  was  collected,  composed  partly 
of  natives  who  had  been  baptized,  partly  of  converts  from  the 
Catholics.  In  1707  the  number  of  members  was  35 ;  in 
1708,  loi  ;  in  1712,  202;  and  by  Ziegenbalg's  death  in  1719, 
428  had  been  received  or  baptized,  280  of  whom  were 
actually  members  at  that  time.  The  oversight  of  these 
members  caused  Ziegenbalg  considerable  difficulty  in  many 
ways.  They  were  composed  in  almost  equal  proportions  of 
Tamils  and  of  Portuguese-speaking  half-castes,  f  It  was  one  of 
the  peculiarities  of  this  earliest  missionary  effort  in  India  that 
such  a  large  amount  of  attention  and  care^  should  have  been 
given  to  outcastes  as  well  as  natives.  In  the  later  development 
of  Protestant  missions  this  particular  form  of  work  has  been 
frequently  neglected.  Then  in  the  Tamil  portion  of  the 
congregation  the  missionaries  were  brought  face  to  face  with 
the  complicated  question  of  caste.  Part  of  these  Tamil 
Christians  were  Sudras  of  various  castes,  part  Pariahs ;  it  was 
soon  found  necessary  to  make  concessions  to  the  prejudices  of 
the  former,  by  reserving  a  special  place  in  the  church  for  their 
use.  At  the  celebration  of  the  Communion,  Sudra  women  had 
precedence  over  male  Pariahs.  This  state  of  affairs  came  about 
naturally  and  was  in  accordance  with  the  usages  introduced  by 
the  Roman  Catholics.  In  the  meantime  the  missionaries  were 
able  to  alleviate  the  caste  evil  somewhat  by  adopting  the 
plan  of  teaching  clever  Pariah  children  Portuguese  and 
then  clothing  them  in  European  dress.  Such  children  hence- 
forth took  precedence  of  the  Sudras.  Mixed  marriages  between 
such  castes  as  were  pretty  closely  related  often  occurred,  but 
never  between  Sudra  and  Pariah  Christians.^ 

The  missionaries  showed  great  skill  and  much  spiritual 
discernment  in  the  way  in  which  they  introduced  a  system  of 
church  government  and  a  true  Protestant  form  of  worship, 
thereby  establishing  a  sound  ecclesiastical  polity.  Church 
discipline  also  was  introduced,  and  its  exercise  was  delegated  to 
a  "  mixed  consistory."  Their  chief  aim,  moreover,  was  to  secure 
fellow-workers  as  soon  as  possible  from  amongst  the  Tamils 
themselves.     From  the  very  beginning  they  had  made  use  of 

1  Bas/e  Missionary  Magazine,  1868,  p.  133. 


THE  DANISH  MISSION  109 

every  Christian  who  showed  any  ability  or  willingness  to  help, 
either  as  a  schoolmaster  or  a  catechist,  or  as  a  helper  in  some 
other  way.  In  17 16  they  opened  an  institution  for  the  training 
of  teachers,  beginning  with  eight  students.  They  also  founded 
out-stations  in  the  small  Danish  territory  at  such  places  as 
Poriar  and  Tiliali,  and  at  these  missionaries  were  temporarily 
stationed. 

Seeing  their  work  in  Tranquebar  hemmed  in  and  hampered 
on  all  sides,  and  finding  that  contributions  were  now  beginning 
to  flow  in  more  plenteously  from  Germany  and  England,  the 
missionaries  commenced  to  entertain  the  project  of  extending 
their  mission  beyond  the  boundaries  of  the  little  Danish  state. 
Ziegenbalg  travelled  to  Madras  (English)  in  the  north,  and 
Negapatam  (Dutch)  in  the  south,  and  in  both  places  he  found 
the  authorities  favourable  and  the  natives  ready  to  listen.  In 
his  active  mind  there  gradually  developed  the  large  plan 
of  journeying  through  the  whole  of  the  Tajnil  country 
from  Madras  in  the  north  right  down  to  Ceylon  in  the  south, 
preaching  the  gospel,  and  of  uniting  the  universities  of  Germany, 
Denmark,  and  Holland  in  an  attempt  to  accomplish  this  great 
work. 

But  before  any  extension  of  their  work  could  be  thought  of, 
it  was  necessary  to  put  an  end  to  the  opposition,  both  open  and 
disguised,  of  Commander  Hassius  and  the  East  India  Company. 
As  the  journey  undertaken  by  Plutschau  in  171 1  for  this  express 
purpose  had  proved  unsuccessful,  Ziengenbalg  himself  left  for 
Europe  in  17 14,  and  by  his  winning  presence  and  his  impetuous 
and  convincing  eloquence  brought  about  a  complete  change  in 
public  opinion  in  so  far  as  there  existed  any  at  all,  on  the 
subject  of  foreign  missions.  Even  before  Ziegenbalg's  arrival  a 
special  Missionary  Board,  the  Collegium  de  cursu  evangelii 
promovendo,  had  been  established  at  Copenhagen  in  17 14  under 
a  royal  warrant,  and  in  order  to  simplify  the  question  of 
administration  Ziegenbalg  was  named  its  first  "  Provost."  The 
belligerent  Hassius  was  recalled  and  his  place  filled  by  a 
Governor,  an  ardent  sympathiser  with  missionary  work.  Every- 
thing promised  well  when,  in  August  18 17,  Ziegenbalg,  who  in 
the  meantime  had  married  the  devout  Maria  Salzmann,  landed 
once  more  at  Tranquebar.  In  place  of  the  inadequate  temporary 
structure  built  in  1707,  the  large  beautiful  "Jerusalem  Church," 
still  one  of  the  chief  adornments  of  Tranquebar,  was  erected 
and  consecrated  in  17 18,  while  other  churches  were  planned. 
Suddenly  there  fell  a  ruinous  blow  upon  the  infant  mission. 
The  chairmanship  of  the  Board  of  Administration  at  Copenhagen 
had  passed  into  the  hands  of  a  man  named  Wendt ;  he  was  of  a 
pious  disposition,  but  of  the   narrowest   possible  outlook,  and 


no  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

had  allowed  himself  to  become  prejudiced  against  Ziegenbalg 
by  the  unjust  accusations  of  Bovingh.  In  his  view  the  work 
at  Tranquebar  was  conducted  on  too  worldly  lines  ;  he  was 
possessed  by  what  he  imagined  to  be  the  apostolic  missionary 
ideal — a  mission  without  church  buildings,  without  schools, 
without  missionaries'  dwellings,  without  anything  outwardly 
"  institutional " ;  the  missionaries  ought  to  be  poor,  to  travel  up 
and  down  the  Tamil  country  without  any  luggage  whatever, 
and  do  nothing  but  preach  the  gospel  all  day  long  to  the 
natives.  It  was  Wendt's  delight  to  press  these  entirely  visionary 
and  immature  missionary  ideas  upon  the  Tranquebar  "Provost" 
in  so  spiteful  a  fashion,  and  accompanied  by  so  many  personal 
attacks  and  accusations,  that  Ziegenbalg  and  his  colleagues 
were  deeply  pained  and  wounded.  \  This  entirely  mistaken  and 
ignorant  policy  cost  the  mission  the  lives  of  its  two  ablest 
_representatives.  Ziegenbalg  set  out  in  a  document  as  dignified 
as  it  was  wise  the  utter  impossibility  of  carrying  out  Wendt's 
theories.     He  wrote  it  with  his  heart's  blood  ;  on  February  23rd, 

17 19,  he  died,  at  the  early  age  of  thirty-six,  his  constitution, 
which  was  always  delicate,  being  unable  to  withstand  this  severe 
blow.  Four  months  later,  in  July  17 19,  three  fresh  missionaries, 
Schultze,  Dal,  and  Kistenmacher,  landed,  and  brought  with  them 
a  bulky  communication  from  the  Collegium.  Griindler, 
Ziegenbalg's  most  faithful  friend  and  most  competent  colleague, 
who  opened  it,  was  scarcely  able  to  read  it  for  tears :  it  was 
a  complete  condemnation  of  Ziegenbalg  and  of  the  methods  of 
work  hitherto  adopted  by  the  mission.  Patiently  submitting  to 
such  senseless  directions,  Griindler  prepared  to  set  off  on  the 
preaching  tour  insisted  upon  in  the  missive.  But  he  was  already 
in  the  grip  of  disease,  and  within  two  weeks  he  had  to  be 
brought  back  to  Tranquebar,  where  he  died  on   March  19th, 

1720.  "The  real  reason  of  his  death,"  wrote  his  widow,  "  is  the 
grief  which  the  severe  letter  from  the  College  caused  him.  It  is 
that  which  has  consumed  his  strength  from  day  to  day."  The 
news  of  these  two  fatalities  had  a  most  salutary  effect  at 
home.  Wendt  fell  into  disfavour  and  was  dismissed  from  his 
post.  His  "apostolic"  plans  were  for  ever  put  on  one  side — 
but  unfortunately  too  late. 


3.  Further  Development  (1720-1798) 

The  young  missionaries  who  landed  in  17 19  were  unable  to 
continue  the  work  of  the  mission  successfully.  Benjamin 
Schultze  was  perhaps  the  most  talented  amongst  them — a  man 
of  considerable  linguistic  gifts  and  great  energy,  but  inconsistent 


THE  DANISH  MISSION  in 

and  restless,  without  depth  or  dignity,  and  with  a  spice  of  the 
petit  maitre  about  him  which  rendered  him  unbearable  to 
his  colleagues.  He  assumed  the  leadership  at  Tranquebar, 
but  Dal  and  Kistenmacher  had  a  great  deal  to  put  up  with, 
and  the  latter  died  within  a  few  months.  Schultze  regarded 
it  as  his  duty  to  root  out  the  caste  evil  from  amongst  the 
Tamil  converts,  and  he  issued  various  directions  and  prohibi- 
tions on  this  point,  greatly  to  the  unsettling  of  the  Christians. 
But  when  he  found  he  could  not  agree  with  Walther  and 
Pressier,  two  able  missionaries  who  arrived  in  1725,  and  who 
remained  till  1739  and  1738  respectively,  he  left  Tranquebar 
and  sought  a  fresh  field  of  labour  in  Madras.  Walther  and 
Pressier  soon  brought  the  discord  in  the  Christian  congrega- 
tions to  a  close.  It  may  have  been  out  of  sheer  contrast  to 
the  exaggerated  and  ill-considered  zeal  of  their  predecessor 
that  they  went  farther  in  their  toleration  of  caste  than  even 
Ziegenbalg  had  done ;  in  fact,  they  were  the  first  to  hold 
such  toleration  as  a  matter  of  principle.  The  Sudras  were 
now  allowed  to  sit  a  yard  apart  from  the  Pariahs  in  church, 
and  even  in  the  schools  their  children  were  kept  apart,  "  as 
far  as  this  was  possible." 

The  Church  grew  perceptibly  during  these  decades ;  often 
in  a  single  year  there  would  be  as  many  as  600  baptisms  or 
more.  It  was  especially  encouraging  to  find  amongst  the 
converts  capable  and  devoted  men  whom  it  was  a  real  joy 
to  ordain,  and  thus  lay  the  foundation  of  a  native  pastorate ; 
thus  in  December  1733  Aaron  was  sent  forth  to  preach,  and 
at  Christmas  1741,  Diego.  But  no  Pariahs  were  ordained,  not 
even  Rajanaiken,  whom  we  must  shortly  mention.  A  decided 
movement  in  favour  of  Christianity  made  itself  felt  during 
this  period  in  the  kingdom  of  Tanjore — which  surrounded  the 
tiny  Tranquebar  district  on  all  sides.  A  sub-officer,  Rajanaiken, 
a  Roman  Catholic  Tamil,  whose  interest  in  the  Scriptures  had 
been  awakened  by  reading  Ziegenbalg's  simple  and  straight- 
forward translation  of  the  New  Testament,  had  made  the 
acquaintance  of  the  Tranquebar  missionaries,  and  had  finally 
thrown  in  his  lot  with  them.  He  was  not  a  man  of  great 
gifts  or  intelligence,  but  he  was  all  on  fire  to  impart  the  truth 
he  had  learned  to  others,  and  was  ready  to  suffer  much  for 
his  faith.  The  leader  of  the  Roman  Catholic  missions  in  the 
kingdom  of  Tanjore  at  this  time  was  Beschi,  a  Jesuit  possessing 
linguistic  abilities  of  a  high  order  and  abundance  of  energy, 
but  who  was  both  unscrupulous  and  ambitious ;  his  period  of 
service  in  India  was  from  1710  till  about  1740,  and  one  of  his 
great  objects  was  to  keep  down  Lutheran  missions.  As  soon 
as  he  heard  of  Rajanaiken's  conversion  he  secretly  commissioned 


112  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

several  of  the  Roman  Catholic  village  headmen  to  pull  down 
the  homestead  of  the  apostate,  and  nothing  but  the  interven- 
tion of  heathen  neighbours  prevented  the  consummation  of 
this  childish  exploit.  Three  years  later,  however,  in  1731,  and 
again  at  Beschi's  orders,  the  fanatical  Roman  Catholics  once 
more  attacked  Rajanaiken's  house ;  two  of  his  brothers  were 
wounded  and  his  father  killed.  A  few  years  later  assassins 
entered  his  house,  and  a  native  preacher  who  happened  to  be 
staying  with  him  only  escaped  with  difficulty  out  of  their  hands. 
Beschi  not  only  set  the  fists  and  daggers  of  his  pliable  sub- 
ordinates at  work  ;  he  sharpened  his  pen,  keen  enough  already, 
dipped  it  in  the  poison  of  hatred  and  malice,  and  composed 
polemics  of  unmeasured  bitterness  against  the  Lutherans.  The 
cleverest  and  most  famous  is  the  "  Lutheran  Swarm,"  in  which 
the  heathen  are  compared  to  the  swarm  of  locusts  mentioned 
in  the  Apocalypse  (Rev.  ix.  1-4)  in  metaphorical  language 
that  was  most  admirably  suited  to  the  Tamils  with  their  love 
of  illustration.^  But  neither  his  calumnies  nor  his  attempted 
violence  could  hinder  the  zeal  and  the  joyful  witness-bearing 
of  Rajanaiken,  who  had  now  left  his  military  service  and 
become  a  "  catechist "  at  Tranquebar.  The  fire  kindled  by  his 
preaching  spread  far  and  wide. 

The  missionaries  at  this  time  were  still  very  greatly 
hampered  as  regards  their  freedom  of  movement.  It  was  not 
until  1728  that  Pressier  was  able  to  proceed  to  Tanjore,  in 
order  to  make  the  personal  acquaintance  of  the  converts  whom 
Rajanaiken  had  made.  Apart  from  this  visit,  the  catechists, 
especially  Aaron,  an  excellent  native  preacher  ordained  in 
1733,  had  to  exercise  general  supervision  of  the  whole  work. 
Up  to  1739,  when  Walther  returned  to  Germany,  the  congrega- 
tion at  Tranquebar  had  increased  to  299  "  Portuguese "  and 
102 1  Tamils,  and  in  the  adjoining  country  districts  of  Tanjore 
to  2446  souls,  thus  making  a  total  of  3766  souls,  a  splendid 
harvest  after  thirty  years  of  patient  sowing. 

In  the  meantime  the  work  of  the  mission  had  been  extended 
in  other  directions ;  the  two  centres  of  the  English  colonial 
power  in  South  India,  Madras  and  Cuddalore,  or  as  they  were 
then  called,  P'ort  St.  George  and  Fort  St.  David,  were  the 
places  chosen  for  the  planting  of  the  two  next  stations.  In 
both  Ziegenbalg  himself  had  already  attempted  to  make  a 
beginning  and  had  met  with  a  kind  reception.  As  early  as 
the  year  17 17  a  German  missionary  had  been  stationed  in 
Cuddalore  for  a  time;  but  it  was  not  till  1737  that  it  was 
raised  to  the  rank  of  a  regular  station,  and  after  that  time  it 

'  For  a  longer  summary  of  this  document,  cf.  Basle  Mtssioiiaty  Magazine,  1868, 
p.  102  et  seq. 


THE  DANISH  MISSION  113 

had  during  the  eighteenth  century  an  almost  continuous  line 
of  missionaries,  as  for  instance  Sartorius  in  1737,  Kiernander 
in  1740,  etc.  In  1758  the  station  suffered  severe  calamities. 
The  French  besieged,  captured,  and  plundered  the  town.  It 
was  on  this  occasion  that  the  Swedish  missionary  Kiernander 
left  the  Tamil  country  for  good,  and  settled  down  in  Bengal, 
where  we  shall  in  due  time  meet  with  him  again.  The  two 
decades  1768-1788  brought  Cuddalore  good  fortune;  during 
these  years  the  gifted  and  faithful  Gericke  laboured,  partly 
here,  partly  in  Negapatam,  which  was  farther  south.  Yet 
neither  in  the  city  itself  nor  in  the  wide-stretching  country 
beyond  was  the  work  rewarded  with  great  success.  Cuddalore 
came  more  and  more  to  be  looked  upon  as  an  out-station  of 
Madras. 

In  Madras  the  work  was  begun,  after  several  temporary 
efforts  of  Ziegenbalg,  by  Benjamin  Schultze  (1726-1741). 
He  founded  a  school  for  Portuguese  and  another  for  Tamils, 
and  sought  to  teach  the  children  in  them  both  English  and 
the  principles  of  Christianity.  He  collected  funds  for  a  church, 
gathered  a  little  band  of  disciples,  240  in  number,  won  the 
favour  of  the  English  by  translating  the  Book  of  Common 
Prayer  into  Tamil,  and  studied  and  wrote  with  great  energy, 
though  without  any  permanent  results.  He  deemed  himself  a 
linguistic  genius,  and  translated  with  much  celerity  large 
portions  of  the  Bible,  not  only  into  Tamil  but  also  into 
Telugu  and  Hindustani.  But  his  linguistic  work  has  since 
proved  practically  worthless,  and  by  its  clumsy  and  ill-sounding 
Tamil  exposed  the  mission  to  the  jeers  of  Beschi  and  the 
criticism  of  the  Tamils  themselves. 

When  Schultze  returned  to  Germany  in  1741,  Philipp 
Fabricius  took  charge  of  the  mission  station  at  Madras,  and 
remained  in  charge  of  it  for  close  on  half  a  century  (1742-1791). 
He  possessed  a  sensitive  and  retiring  nature,  and  therefore 
shrank  from  the  wild,  dissolute  life  of  his  time ;  the  Tamils 
called  him  the  "  Sannyasi  Aiyar,"  or  the  "  monk-priest."  He 
was  hardly  the  man  for  the  unsettled  days  and  difficult  conflicts 
through  which  he  was  destined  to  guide  the  fortunes  of  the 
congregation  at  Madras.  This  dark  period  from  1745  to  1784 
was  taken  up  in  the  first  place  with  the  Anglo-French  struggle 
for  the  supremacy  of  South  India,  and  later  with  the  raids  of 
Haidar  Ali  of  Mysore.  When  Madras  was  captured  and 
pillaged  by  the  French  in  1746,  Fabricius  was  compelled  to  fly 
with  his  frightened  flock  to  the  neighbouring  Dutch  colony  of 
Pulicat,  and  there  to  remain  in  exile  until  1749.  But  he  received 
remarkable  compensation  for  this  long  and  enforced  retreat. 
The  Portuguese  Roman  Catholics,  one  of  whose  chief  centres  in 


114  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

India  was  Mount  Thomas,  near  Madras  (or  Milapur  ;  it  had 
been  the  seat  of  a  Roman  bishopric  since  1606),  and  who  were 
therefore  both  numerous  and  influential  in  Madras,  had  played 
so  doubtful  a  role  in  the  Anglo-French  War,  and  had  brought 
upon  themselves  such  strong  suspicion  of  treason,  that  the  East 
India  Company  as  a  punishment  banished  them  from  all  their 
Indian  possessions,  and  in  particular  forbade  their  further 
residence  in  Madras.  Their  property  in  that  city  was  con- 
fiscated, and  their  church  with  the  adjoining  buildings,  in  the 
Vepery  suburb,  was  presented  to  Fabricius  and  the  Lutherans. 
In  1758  the  French  came  again,  and  the  light  horse  of  their 
Muhammadan  allies  sacked  all  the  environs  of  Madras,  and  in 
particular  the  mission  property  in  the  Vepery  district.  Fabri- 
cius was  for  the  second  time  compelled  to  flee  with  his  converts 
to  Pulicat,  and  there  to  await  the  settlement  of  the  political 
situation.  Fort  St.  George  was  closely  invested,  but  an  English 
fleet  came  to  the  rescue  in  time,  the  French  had  to  beat  a 
retreat,  and  Fabricius  was  able  to  return  to  his  devastated  home. 
In  1780  mischief  was  threatened  from  a  new  quarter:  the  plain 
before  Madras  was  suddenly  overrun  by  the  wild  mounted 
hordes  of  Haidar  Ali,  who  was  acting  in  concert  with  the  French  ; 
they  advanced  right  up  to  the  gates  of  the  city,  spreading  fear 
and  desolation  around  them.  Fabricius  and  his  followers  were 
forced  to  take  refuge  in  the  fortress,  and  there  they  spent  many 
weary  days.  Such  stormy  times  were  little  suited  to  advance 
the  peaceful  work  of  the  mission. 

Fabricius,  however,  plunged  all  the  more  deeply  into  his 
beloved  Tamil  studies,  and  attained  a  degree  of  proficiency  in 
the  language  which  was  not  approached  within  even  measurable 
distance  by  any  of  his  colleagues  during  the  eighteenth  century. 
His  favourite  employment  was  the  translation  of  the  Bible  into 
Tamil.  He  quickly  saw  how  unsatisfactory  was  the  hurried 
work  of  Schultze,  and  also  how  capable  of  amendment  Ziegen- 
balg's  translations  were ;  he  devoted  his  whole  strength  to  this 
task,  and  "  crept  through  the  original  Bible  text  on  his  knees  as 
if  he  were  himself  a  poor  sinner  and  mendicant,  carefully  weigh- 
ing each  word  to  see  how  it  might  best  be  rendered."  Fabricius' 
translation  ranks  as  one  of  the  most  splendid  achievements  in 
this  difficult  field,  and  although  since  his  time  several  other 
translations  of  the  Bible  have  been  published  in  Tamil  which 
may  perhaps  be  superior  in  fluency  of  rendering,  intelligibility, 
or  classical  purity  of  style,  it  is  still  doubtful  whether  any  one 
of  these  really  comes  up  to  the  work  of  Fabricius,  upon  which, 
moreover,  all  are  more  or  less  dependent.  After  the  Bible,  his 
gentle  spirit  and  fervent  faith  found  expression  in  the  composition 
of  Tamil  hymns.     Ziegenbalg  had  translated  forty-eight  into  the 


THE  DANISH  MISSION  115 

vernacular,  and  Schultze  had  added  a  large  number  of  more 
questionable  value,  but  in  this  field  also  Fabricius  holds  the 
place  of  pre-eminence.  Without  allowing  himself  much  poetical 
licence,  he  reproduced  the  very  spirit  of  the  German  hymn- 
writers  in  the  simplest  language  possible.  "  More  poetical 
verses" — this  is  the  judgment  of  the  scholarly  Gundert — "may 
have  been  composed  by  missionaries  as  well  as  verses  that  were 
perhaps  more  correct,  but  the  fervent  spiritual  hymns  of 
Fabricius,  welling  up  as  they  do  from  the  deepest  sources  of 
Christian  experience,  have  never  since  been  equalled  by  any 
missionary  poet.  The  only  pity  is  that  they  are  now  almost 
forgotten  by  the  English  and  American  Societies  working  in  the 
Tamil  country,  simply  because  these  latter  are  not  familiar  with 
the  German  tunes"  {Basle  Missionary  Magazine,  1868,  p.  189). 
When  after  the  capture  of  Pondicherry,  the  principal  fortress  of 
the  French,  in  1761,  Fabricius  was  presented  by  the  English 
with  a  printing  press  which  they  had  found  there,  the  quiet 
and  industrious  missionary  was  able  at  once  to  proceed 
with  the  publication  of  his  carefully  executed  literary  labours. 
The  chief  of  these  were  the  different  editions  of  his  Old  and 
New  Testaments;  in  1774  there  appeared  his  Tamil  Hymn- 
book,  containing  over  100  hymns;  in  1778  his  Tamil  Grammar, 
specially  intended  for  the  use  of  young  missionaries;  in  1779 
the  Tamil-English,  and  in  1786  the  English-Tamil  parts  of 
his  Dictionary. 

In  the  midst  of  these  labours  Fabricius  did  not  by  any 
means  neglect  the  seeds  of  the  gospel  which  had  been  blown 
far  and  wide  by  the  storms  of  the  war.  Through  his  careful 
pastoring  there  grew  up  out-stations  all  round  Madras,  at 
Pulicat,  Sadras,  Chingleput,  and  Vellore.  The  native  member- 
ship, including  these  out-stations,  increased  during  his  fifty 
years'  labour  from  240  to  nearly  4000.  But  it  must  be  admitted 
that  there  is  no  evidence  of  any  advance  on  the  part  of  this 
large  congregation  to  spiritual  or  even  to  outward  ecclesiastical 
independence,  or  of  the  training  of  any  trustworthy  native 
teachers  or  preachers.  With  an  indiscretion  which  observation 
shows  to  be  not  uncommon  among  men  of  a  similarly  intro- 
spective nature,  Fabricius  had  unfortunately  for  a  long  time 
past  been  engaged  in  extensive  money  transactions.^  He  lent 
money  at  a  high  rate  of  interest,  and  received  as  security  plots 
of  ground,  villages,  and  even  small  estates.  Since  during  the 
unsettled  times  of  the  war,  when  all  business  came  to  a  stand- 

^  It  would  be  unjust  to  pass  sentence  upon  the  unwise  financial  operations  of 
Fabricius,  and  later  of  Kiernander,  according  to  the  standard  of  the  regular  monetary 
transactions  of  the  present  day ;  the  great  uncertainty  of  the  money  market  at  that 
time,  especially  in  India,  explains  much,  without  however  excusing  it. 


ii6  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

still,  Madras  with  its  powerful  English  fortress  seemed  to  offer 
the  best  security  for  money,  widows  and  orphans,  mission 
workers,  and  even  the  Administration  of  the  mission,  had  placed 
important  sums  of  money  in  Fabricius'  hands,  and  he  had 
invested  them  in  the  usual  manner ;  but  he  was  basely  misled 
and  deceived  by  a  dishonest  catechist,  Gurupadam,  in  whom 
he  reposed  a  blind  confidence.  His  principal  debtor  was  a 
Muhammadan,  Baron  Bommarasa,  the  son-in-law  of  the  Nawab 
of  Arcot.  This  man  became  bankrupt,  took  to  flight,  and  in 
the  end  died,  without  paying  anything  he  owed ;  and  the 
Nawab  refused  to  acknowledge  the  debts  of  his  faithless  and 
spendthrift  relative.  For  Fabricius  this  was  a  terrible  disaster. 
His  debts  became  enormous ;  a  sum  of  more  than  100,000 
thalers  was  concerned,  and  that  at  a  time  when  money  was 
particularly  scarce.  His  colleagues,  especially  Schwartz,  lost 
almost  all  they  had ;  many  widows  and  poor  Christians  were 
deprived  of  everything  down  to  their  very  last  farthing. 
Fabricius  was  sent  to  the  debtors'  prison  again  and  again.  The 
last  thirteen  years  of  his  life  (1778-1791)  were  darkened  by  this 
disaster.  His  boundless  good-nature  and  credulity,  the  baseness 
by  which  his  "  right  hand,"  Gurupadam,  exploited  his  weak 
memory  and  his  inability  to  judge  prudently  in  money  matters, 
not  only  made  his  name  a  byword  in  the  mouths  of  the  English 
and  the  heathen,  but  likewise  brought  severe  scandal  upon  the 
whole  mission.  Fabricius  died,  old  and  weary  of  life,  on 
January  23rd,  1791. 

Fabricius'  great  contemporary,  the  brightest  star  in  the  con- 
stellation of  the  Danish  missionaries,  was  Christian  Friedrich 
Schwartz.  Born  on  October  22nd,  1726,  at  Sonnenberg,  in  the 
Neumark,  he  received  instruction  in  the  Tamil  tongue  even 
before  he  left  Halle  from  his  fellow-countryman,  Benjamin 
Schultze,  who  had  just  returned  from  India.  On  July  i6th, 
1750,  he  landed  at  Cuddalore  with  two  comrades,  David  Polzen- 
hagen  and  Huttemann,  and  never  again  quitted  South  India  to 
the  day  of  his  death  in  1798.  Schwartz  was  by  no  means  a 
brilliantly  gifted  man ;  even  in  his  missionary  labours  he  never 
struck  out  any  new  lines  of  work.  He  did  not  bring  the 
Tranquebar  Mission  to  a  higher  stage  of  development,  he  simply 
extended  its  operations.  But  the  younger  Francke,  who  had 
sent  him  out,  was  not  mistaken  in  his  man ;  what  distinguished 
him  was  the  peculiar  "  vivacity  and  the  unmistakable  purity  "  of 
his  nature.  Whilst  other  missionaries  in  the  course  of  years 
suffered  from  the  withering  influence  of  the  natural,  and  still 
more  mental  and  moral  climate  of  their  environment,  every 
fresh  task  seemed  to  fill  Schwartz  with  yet  greater  "  vivacity," 
and  to  help  him  to  some  inward  victory ;  he  grew  perceptibly 


THE  DANISH  MISSION  117 

along  with  his  growing  ideals,  and  at  the  same  time  the  purity 
of  his  heart,  his  insusceptibility  to  flattery,  his  incorruptibility 
in  money  matters,  his  unassuming  and  simple  faithfulness,  the 
frank  straightforwardness  of  his  relations  with  both  the  great 
and  the  humble,  were  so  self-evident  that  he  enjoyed  the 
general  confidence  of  the  community  as  perhaps  no  other 
missionary  in  India  has  ever  done. 

Let  us  describe  Schwartz's  appearance  as  it  is  set  down  for 
us  by  an  eye-witness :  "  Figure  to  yourself  a  short  well-made 
man,  somewhat  above  the  middle  size,  erect  in  carriage  and 
address,  with  a  complexion  rather  dark  though  healthy,  black 
curled  hair,  and  a  manly  engaging  countenance  expressive  of 
unaffected  candour,  ingenuousness,  and  benevolence,  and  you 
will  have  an  idea  of  what  Mr.  Schwartz  appeared  to  be  at  first 
sight.  ...  A  dish  of  rice  and  vegetables  dressed  after  the 
manner  of  the  natives  was  what  he  could  always  sit  cheerfully 
down  to  ;  and  a  piece  of  dimity  dyed  black,  and  other  materials 
of  the  same  homely  sort,  sufficed  him  for  an  annual  supply  of 
clothing."  1 

During  the  first  decade  (1750-1762)  that  Schwartz  laboured  at 
Tranquebar  he  attracted  practically  no  more  attention  than  the 
other  missionaries.  Several  lengthy  journeys  to  Madras,  Ceylon, 
Tanjore,  and  Trichinopoly  widened  his  horizon  and  made  him 
familiar  with  the  land  and  its  people.  At  Trichinopoly  he 
obtained  such  a  hold  over  the  sorely  neglected  garrison  that 
the  commander  urged  him  to  settle  down  there  permanently. 
After  thorough  consultation  with  his  colleagues,  he  acceded  to 
this  request,  being  convinced  that  the  time  had  now  come  when 
the  gospel  must  be  carried  to  the  very  heart  of  the  Tamil  country, 
and  that  Trichinopoly  would  make  a  good  centre  for  such  an 
enterprise.  For  sixteen  years  (i 762-1778)  he  laboured  there, 
being  the  founder  of  the  mission  station  in  that  town.  That 
he  at  once  set  about  proclaiming  the  Word  of  God  to  the  heathen 
and  Muhammadans  both  in  the  crowded  city  and  also  in  the 
thickly  populated  surrounding  districts,  both  in  season  and  out 
of  season,  that  he  faithfully  gathered  together  and  tended  the 
Christians  who  had  been  banished  to  Trichinopoly  from  Tanjore 
and  Tranquebar,  and  ever  sought  to  increase  their  number  by 
fresh  converts,  that  he  prepared  the  latter  for  baptism  by  care- 
ful daily  teaching  extending  over  a  period  of  several  months, 
that  he  made  an  immediate  beginning  with  educational  work, 
and  for  many  months  taught  and  catechised  four  hours  a  day, 
scarcely  needs  to  be  mentioned.  It  was  merely  the  daily  round 
of  his  laborious  life.     Trichinopoly  was  at  that  time  the  second 

^  C.  F.  Szvarlz,  by  H.  Pearson,  Dean  of  Salisbury  ;  cited  from  letter  written  by 
W.  Chambers. 


ii8  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

capital  of  the  Nawab  of  Arcot,  who  often  resided  there.  In 
order  to  be  able  to  carry  the  gospel  to  this  capricious  Muham- 
madan  ruler  and  his  court,  Schwartz  quickly  learnt  Hindustani, 
and  later,  that  he  might  appear  a  fully  trained  scholar  in  their 
eyes,  Persian.  The  Nawab  was  the  ally  of  the  English,  and  a 
detachment  of  the  latter  occupied  the  fortress  at  Trichinopoly. 
Amongst  this  English  garrison  Schwartz  soon  found  one  of 
the  main  branches  of  his  work,  and  in  1767  he  was  officially 
transferred  to  the  English  by  the  authorities  of  the  Danish 
Mission,  and  made  an  English  chaplain,  with  the  proviso,  how- 
ever, that  at  any  time  he  might  return  to  full  connection  with  the 
mission.  As  army  chaplain  he  accompanied  the  English  troops 
to  Madura,  when  that  town  was  besieged  and  captured,  and  in  a 
camp  devastated  by  infectious  diseases  he  proved  himself  a  good 
Samaritan  indeed,  until  he  himself  was  taken  seriously  ill. 
When  through  a  powder  explosion  in  the  Fort  at  Trichinopoly, 
and  through  the  heavy  losses  in  the  war  with  Madura,  a  number 
of  the  children  of  European  soldiers  were  left  fatherless,  he 
founded  in  addition  to  his  other  work  an  orphan  school,  and  as 
there  was  a  scarcity  of  teachers  was  compelled  to  devote  to  it 
some  of  his  own  time.  Thus  work  multiplied  in  his  hands,  and 
none  but  a  Schwartz  could  have  accomplished  it  without  becom- 
ing exhausted  both  in  body  and  soul — especially  at  Trichinopoly, 
the  red-hot  "gridiron  of  India," 

In  the  meantime  the  way  was  being  opened  for  closer  relations 
with  the  royal  house  of  Tanjore.  About  1763  the  learned, 
kindly,  but  morally  weak  Maratha  Rajah,  Tulsi,  debilitated 
and  unnerved  by  lifelong  dissipation,  came  to  the  throne.  As  a 
matter  of  fact  Trichinopoly  too  was  a  part  of  his  dominions ; 
but  the  Nawab,  who  had  robbed  him  of  this  fat  morsel,  would 
only  too  gladly  have  taken  with  it  the  whole  kingdom  of  Tan- 
jore. As  the  English  were  his  allies,  he  hoped  to  have  the 
benefit  of  their  assistance  in  a  raid  he  was  organising  in  order  to 
carry  out  this  project.  Tulsi  was  too  weak  to  oppose  the 
Nawab  himself,  and  his  relations  with  the  English  just  at  this 
time  were  of  a  very  strained  nature.  In  this  condition  of  affairs 
he  conceived  a  desire  to  attract  to  his  court  the  universally 
esteemed  Schwartz,  who  possessed,  moreover,  the  favour  of  the 
English,  in  order  to  have  one  trustworthy  man  at  his  side 
during  all  these  complicated  transactions.  But  the  Brahman 
advisers  of  the  Rajah  were  far  from  desiring  the  presence  at 
court  of  one  whose  fidelity  to  Christianity  was  never  known  to 
waver,  and  they  were  able  to  prevent  the  Rajah  from  entering 
into  any  closer  relationship.  In  the  meantime,  the  Nawab  had 
carried  out  the  threatened  attack  upon  Tanjore  (1773);  the 
capital  was  stormed,  the  Rajah  taken  prisoner,  dethroned,  and 


THE  DANISH  MISSION  119 

cast  into  prison,  where  he  languished  for  two  years  and  a  half. 
But  the  Nawab  was  mistaken  in  his  English  confederates :  they 
did  not  view  with  favour  any  additions  to  his  power,  least  of  all 
that  of  this  rich  kingdom  ;  they  determined  to  reinstate  the 
Rajah,  and  the  Nawab  was  forced  to  give  way  (1776).  Schwartz 
had  the  joy  of  announcing  to  the  imprisoned  and  greatly 
humiliated  Rajah  the  news  of  his  rehabilitation.  The  personal 
friendship  commenced  during  these  days  of  sorrow  led  in  1778 
to  Schwartz  changing  his  residence  from  Trichinopoly  to 
Tanjore,  which  thus  became  a  station  of  the  mission.  It  was 
here  he  lived  and  worked  during  the  last  two  decades  of  his  life 
(1 778-1 798). 

Just  as  at  an  earlier  period  (1764)  Schwartz  had  extended 
his  connections  as  far  as  Madura,  so  he  now  travelled  down  to 
Tinnevelly,  near  the  southern  extremity  of  India  (1778).  In 
the  fortress '  of  Falamcottah,  near  Tinnevelly,  was  a  little 
English  garrison,  and  amongst  the  Tamil  soldiers  who  formed 
part  of  it  were  fifty  or  sixty  Christians  who  had  been  members 
of  the  congregations  at  Trichinopoly  and  Tanjore.  Schwartz 
preached  to  the  English  and  to  the  Tamil  converts,  and  sought 
to  establish  amongst  them  a  native  Church.  On  this  occasion 
too  he  baptized  a  Brahman  widow,  Clarinda,  who  had  already 
been  a  candidate  for  baptism  in  Trichinopoly,  but  whom 
Schwartz  had  to  refuse  on  account  of  her  dubious  relations  with 
an  English  officer.  Thenceforward  she  became  the  life  and 
soul  of  the  Christian  propaganda  in  Tinnevelly.  Schwartz 
thought  this  province  a  most  promising  one,  and  never  allowed 
the  relations  established  on  this  journey  to  be  interrupted.  We 
shall  come  across  the  results  of  his  visit  later,  when  we  deal 
with  the  missionary  history  of  this  district. 

In  the  following  year  (1779)  the  English  themselves  made 
use  of  Schwartz  as  a  political  agent.  At  this  time  the  danger 
threatened  by  the  Maratha  rebel,  Haidar  AH,  the  usurper  of 
Mysore,  was  at  its  most  critical  stage.  The  English,  who 
well  knew  that  this  artful  prince  had  entered  into  a  compact 
with  their  enemy  the  French,  and  that  therefore  a  collision 
with  him  would  be  inevitable,  desired  to  delay  the  issue,  because 
they  did  not  yet  feel  themselves  strong  enough  for  it.  They 
dispatched  an  embassy,  therefore,  to  his  court  at  Seringapatam, 
and  in  order  to  give  it  an  appearance  of  credibility  induced  the 
missionary,  who  did  not  see  through  their  tactics,  and  who 
hoped  to  be  able  to  establish  peace,  to  accompany  this  embassy. 
The  negotiations  were  fruitless.  Haidar  Ali  appears  to  have 
got  to  know  the  plans  of  the  English.  Both  on  the  journey 
and  in  Seringapatam  Schwartz  employed  every  spare  moment 
in  the  proclamation  of  the  gospel  and  in  spiritual  ministrations 


120  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

to  the  neglected  Europeans,  Hardly  had  he  got  back  to 
Tanjore,  when  Haidar  AH's  hordes  of  light  horsemen  poured 
across  the  defenceless  Tamil  lowlands,  burning  and  devastating 
the  whole  country ;  they  swept  right  up  to  the  gates  of  Madras 
and  were  within  a  hair's  breadth  of  capturing  that  fortress 
by  surprise.  The  Cauvery  forts  that  fell  into  their  power, 
especially  the  towns  of  Trichinopoly  and  Tanjore,  were  not 
prepared  for  a  siege  and  were  insufficiently  provisioned.  The 
peasants  of  the  rich  surrounding  districts,  who  had  been  so  often 
previously  deceived  by  both  parties,  would  give  up  their  stores 
of  rice  neither  at  the  orders  of  the  Brahmans  nor  yet  those  of 
the  English  officers.  Schwartz  had  to  intervene  ;  he  pledged 
his  own  name  as  a  guarantee  for  the  actual  payment,  and  the 
stores  at  once  began  to  flow  in.  Foreseeing  the  evil  days, 
Schwartz  had  also  bought  large  quantities  of  rice  out  of  his  own 
private  means,  and  was  thereby  able,  as  soon  as  the  trouble  came, 
to  feed  hundreds.  It  was  no  wonder  that  numbers  of  them 
indicated  their  desire  to  be  received  into  the  Christian  Church. 
When  in  1782  the  old  lion,  Haidar  AH,  died  and  things  began 
to  go  less  successfully  with  his  son  Tipu  Sahib,  so  that  he 
seemed  to  be  willing  to  treat  for  a  cessation  of  hostilities, 
Schwartz  was  again  chosen  to  accompany  the  embassy  of  peace. 
But  he  was  only  allowed  to  go  as  far  as  Satyamangalam, 
Tipu  Sahib  forbidding  him  to  proceed  farther.  This  time, 
however,  peace  was  actually  brought  about  at  Mangalore 
(1784). 

In  the  years  that  followed  Tulsi  so  mismanaged  and 
impoverished  his  land  that  the  English  interfered  and  appointed 
an  Advisory  Council.  So  great  was  their  confidence  in 
Schwartz  that  they  added  his  name  as  honorary  member  of 
the  Council  to  those  of  the  three  lay  members ;  he  had  equal 
powers  with  them,  and  frequently  gave  the  casting  vote  on 
whatever  business  they  had  in  hand. 

In  1787  Rajah  Tulsi  lay  on  his  death-bed.  At  the  last 
moment  he  had  adopted  as  heir  his  ten-year-old  nephew, 
Serfoji.  He  would  have  liked  to  appoint  Schwartz  guardian 
and  in  consequence  Regent  of  the  land  during  his  heir's 
minority  ;  but  Schwartz  persuaded  him  to  entrust  both  offices 
to  his  brother,  Amir  Singh.  This  latter  was  recognised,  there- 
fore, as  Regent  by  the  people  of  the  country  and  by  the 
English.  But  his  misgovernment  was  so  scandalous,  and  his 
designs  upon  the  throne  and  life  of  the  young  prince  entrusted 
to  his  care  so  obvious,  that  eventually  the  English  deprived  him 
of  the  government  and  the  administration  of  justice,  and  con- 
ferred both  offices  upon  Schwartz ;  he  was  appointed  as  English 
"  Resident "  for  two  years,  and  extensive  powers  were  entrusted 


THE  DANISH  MISSION  121 

to  him.  In  such  a  position  he  had  necessarily  to  devote  a 
large  part  of  his  time  and  strength  to  the  reorganisation  of  the 
ruined  finances  of  the  country  and  to  administering  its  laws. 
His  modest  house  and  garden  were  beset  early  and  late  by  a 
crowd  of  rich  and  poor  seeking  his  counsel  or  his  help.  It  was 
a  magnificent  feature  of  the  work  of  this  unpretentious  man 
that  in  spite  of  his  lofty  and  influential  position  and  in  spite  of 
all  the  thronging  cares  of  state,  he  yet  found  time  to  teach  in 
the  day  school  and  to  prepare  catechumens  for  baptism.  He 
entrusted  the  education  of  young  Serfoji  to  his  faithful  and 
gifted  colleague  Gericke  at  Madras,  until  he  was  set  upon  the 
throne  by  the  English  in  1796.  The  young  prince,  accessible 
as  he  was  to  Christian  influences,  regarded  Schwartz  as  the 
saviour  of  his  life  and  his  father. 

With  Schwartz  taking  up  such  an  influential  position  in 
Tanjore,  it  was  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  the  work  founded  half 
a  century  before  by  Rajanaiken  and  his  followers  made  rapid 
headway.  Schwartz  specially  exerted  himself  to  obtain  an 
entry  into  the  Kalian  villages  lying  south  and  south-east  of 
Tanjore.  The  Kalians  are  one  of  the  most  peculiar  of  the 
thief  and  robber  castes  of  Southern  India ;  they  practise  theft 
both  as  a  caste  duty  and  as  a  profession,  and  are  an  ill-reputed 
and  violent  race.  A  part  of  this  caste,  consisting  of  the  inhabit- 
ants of  several  districts,  was  won  over  by  Schwartz  to  Christianity, 
and  even  though  the  old  evil  practices  were  not  easily  given  up, 
and  though  these  Kalian  congregations  have  given  later 
missionaries  a  lot  of  trouble,  yet  even  to-day  they  still  remain 
part  and  parcel  of  the  Tanjore  Church.  At  Schwartz's 
death  this  latter  numbered  2800  souls.  What  a  far-seeing 
and  energetic  man  Schwartz  was  may  also  be  seen  by 
his  work  in  another  direction.  John  Sullivan,  the  English 
Resident  at  Tanjore,  conceived  the  sagacious  idea  of  founding 
in  the  principal  centres  of  the  Tamil  country  high  schools  for 
native  children,  with  obligatory  instruction  in  English,  with 
a  view  to  introducing  the  English  language  and  English  ideas 
into  India.  But  Sullivan  was  wise  enough  to  see  that,  as  things 
then  were,  he  could  only  hope  for  success  with  his  scheme  if  the 
missionaries  took  over  the  direction  of  these  so-called  provincial 
schools.  Without  a  moment's  hesitation  Schwartz  promised 
the  necessary  help,  since  unreserved  permission  was  given  him 
to  teach  Christianity  in  those  schools.  Thus  English  schools 
were  inaugurated  at  Tanjore,  Trichinopoly,  and  Ramnad — the 
first  attempt,  though  unfortunately  one  destined  to  early  failure, 
to  establish  a  Western  school  system. 

During  the  last  years  of  his  life  Schwartz  saw  with  great 
pain  the  decline  of  interest  in  Germany  in  foreign  missionary 


122  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

work.  It  was  a  comfort  to  him  to  leave  his  Trichinopoly  work 
in  the  hands  of  the  faithful  Pohle.  For  his  beloved  work  at 
Tanjore  he  himself  provided  a  successor  in  his  foster-son, 
Kaspar  Kohlhoff  the  younger.  Schwartz  never  married,  and 
when  on  one  occasion  a  Danish  naval  chaplain  recklessly  sent 
him  out  a  wife,  who  moreover  had  behaved  most  scandalously 
during  the  long  sea-voyage,  he  unceremoniously  refused  her 
and  sent  her  back.  On  the  other  hand,  he  loved  young 
Kohlhoff  as  his  own  child,  and  it  was  an  unspeakable  joy  to 
Schwartz  to  ordain  him  on  the  occasion  of  the  jubilee  of  the 
ministry  of  the  elder  Kohlhoff  (1787).  "What  I  felt  on  this, 
the  most  affecting  day  of  my  life,"  he  said,  "  it  is  impossible  for 
me  to  describe."  For  over  fifty  years  (1787- 1844)  young 
Kohlhoff  continued  his  work  in  Tanjore.  In  the  beginning  of 
the  nineties  Schwartz  came  to  feel  more  and  more  the  troubles 
and  trials  of  old  age,  and  at  the  end  of  1796  a  severe  sickness 
laid  him  aside,  from  which,  to  the  amazement  of  all,  he  recovered. 
But  in  February  1798  death  came  upon  him  suddenly;  his 
last  days  were  truly  devoted  and  peaceful.  Mentally  vigorous 
right  up  to  the  end,  surrounded  by  faithful  colleagues,  loved 
and  cherished  like  a  father  by  his  Tamil  helpers,  he  was  able 
even  on  his  death-bed  to  give  utterance  to  many  wise  and 
spiritual  counsels,  which  were  for  long  treasured  up  in  faithful 
hearts. 

Schwartz's  unique  position  in  Tanjore  had  also  enabled 
him  to  procure  most  advantageous  sites  for  his  churches. 
One  of  the  places  of  worship  erected  by  him  is  very  close  to  a 
pool  of  especial  sanctity,  and  lies  within  the  precincts  of  the 
Fort ;  the  other,  and  with  it  the  whole  of  the  station  as  he 
afterwards  developed  it,  is  situated  in  a  suburb  where  the 
grateful  generosity  of  the  prince  had  assigned  a  large  plot  of 
ground  for  the  foundatioh  of  two  little  Christian  villages. 
With  his  few  needs  we  can  scarcely  wonder  that  Schwartz 
should  have  left  a  large  amount  of  money,  between  ^9000  and 
;6^ 1 0,000  sterling,  especially  when  we  remember  that  in  the 
last  decades  of  his  life  he  had  received  a  very  high  salary,  and 
was  moreover  frequently  presented  with  handsome  gifts.  He 
bequeathed  it  all  to  the  native  Church,  especially  in  the  form  of 
endowments  for  the  poor,  and  for  schools. 

Unspeakably  more  important  for  the  mission  and  for  the 
native  Christians  than  the  money  he  left  behind,  was  the  good 
name  of  the  "  Royal  Priest  of  Tanjore,"  which  clung  to  him 
long  after  his  death,  and  which  even  to-day  pervades  the  Tamil 
Mission  like  a  gracious  perfume.  In  recognition  of  his  valuable 
political  services  the  East  India  Company  erected  a  marble 
monument  to  his  memory  in  one  of  the  churches  of  Madras.    Far 


THE  DANISH  MISSION  123 

more  touching  and  attractive,  however,  is  the  other  monument 
which  was  set  up  by  the  grateful  Serfoji  in  the  garrison 
church  at  Tanjore,  upon  which  was  placed  the  often  cited 
English  inscription  : — 

"  Firm  wast  thou,  humble  and  wise, 
Honest,  pure,  free  from  all  disguise, 
Father  of  orphans,  the  widow's  support. 
Comfort  in  sorrow  of  every  sort. 
To  the  benighted,  dispenser  of  light. 
Doing  and  pointing  to  that  which  is  right ; 
Blessing  to  princes,  to  people,  to  me  ; 
May  I,  my  father,  be  worthy  of  thee  ! 
Wisheth  and  prayeth  thy  Saraboji  !  " 

After  the  death  of  Pressier  in  1738  and  the  return  to 
Europe  of  Walther  in  1739,  the  work  at  Tranquebar  had 
passed  through  a  period  of  settled  calm — though  faithful  and 
active  missionaries  had  by  no  means  been  lacking,  as  the 
names  of  Wiedebrock  and  John  (who  died  in  181 3)  testify. 
The  staff  was  further  notably  reinforced  by  the  addition  of 
missionary  doctors,  such  as  Martini  (d.  1791)  and  his  successor, 
the  younger  Klein.  But  none  of  these  men  stood  up 
prominently  above  his  colleagues,  nor  earned  for  himself 
special  distinction.  The  church  membership,  too,  for  a  consider- 
able number  of  years  increased  regularly.  But  for  the  most 
part  the  work  of  the  missionaries  was  confined  to  the  town, 
and  they  left  to  their  younger  brethren  the  instruction  of  the 
candidates  for  baptism,  who  at  certain  periods  of  the  year 
streamed  into  Tranquebar,  and  to  the  native  preachers  and 
catechists  the  preaching  up  and  down  in  the  country  and  the 
oversight  of  the  widely  separated  country  stations.  A  further 
advance  was  made  by  the  erection  of  the  stately  and  massive 
"Bethlehem"  church  in  the  town  of  Poriar  in  1746:  this 
church  was  worked,  however,  by  the  Tranquebar  pastorate. 
The  work  now  seemed  to  centre  itself  more  and  more  in 
educational  activity,  and  John,  who  was  specially  gifted  in  this 
direction,  soon  became  a  zealous  advocate  of  this  policy. 
Partly,  it  must  be  admitted,  to  help  on  his  finances,  he  established 
a  large  school  at  Tranquebar  for  the  children  of  Europeans 
and  wealthy  natives.  The  school  and  "  pension "  must  have 
been  wisely  directed.  But  of  direct  help  to  missions  through 
its  agency  there  was  none ;  for  none  of  the  pupils  entered  into 
the  missionary  service,  still  less  were  any  catechists  or  native 
preachers  recruited  from  amongst  them.  For  the  new^ly 
arrived  missionaries  it  was  far  more  comfortable  to  give 
instruction  in  this  magnificent  school,  and  to  be  well  paid  for  it, 
than  to  toil  at  the  difficult  Tamil  language,  or  to  travel  up  and 


124  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

down  in  the  country  districts.  The  older  missionaries  also, 
such  as  John  and  Rottler,  found  their  time  fully  taken  up  by 
the  institution :  John's  Tranquebar  Institution  was  the  fore- 
runner of  Marshman's  at  Serampore;  but  the  founder  and 
director  of  the  latter  received  no  salary,  and  besides  his  educa- 
tional work  he  rendered,  along  with  his  excellent  wife,  the 
greatest  services  to  the  cause  of  missions,  while  the  same 
cannot  be  said  of  the  work  of  John. 

Unfortunately  the  mission  work  carried  on  for  forty 
years  in  Tranquebar  by  the  Moravian  Brethren  forms  only 
an  episode  in  the  history  of  the  Danish  Mission.  The 
Missionary  Board  of  the  Moravians  in  1739  received  a  re- 
quest from  Denmark  to  evangelise  and  colonise  the  small 
and  scattered  islands  of  the  Nicobar  group,  situated  in  the 
eastern  portion  of  the  Bay  of  Bengal ;  the  Tranquebar  mission- 
aries had  themselves  made  an  attempt  in  this  direction,  but  it 
had  failed  owing  to  the  early  death  of  their  representative,  the 
godly  David  Polzenhagen.  The  Brotherhood  accepted  the 
very  unpromising  offer  on  being  presented  with  important 
privileges  in  all  the  Danish  possessions  in  the  East  Indies,  and 
especially  the  right  to  found  a  strong  missionary  centre  in 
Tranquebar  (where  they  were  to  enjoy  perfect  religious 
freedom),  as  a  base  for  the  work  in  the  remote  Nicobar  Islands. 
In  1760  a  company  of  fourteen  Brethren  landed  at  Tranquebar, 
and  their  number  was  increased  in  the  following  year.  They 
bought  a  garden  plot,  the  Garden  of  the  Brethren,  situated 
near  the  town,  and  proceeded  to  settle  there.  The  Lutheran 
missionaries  gave  them  a  most  unfriendly  reception,  and  with 
the  utmost  pettiness  of  spirit  and  the  most  unworthy  misre- 
presentations and  calumnies  they  succeeded  in  bringing  it 
about  that  at  length  the  Brethren  were  forbidden  to  exercise 
their  missionary  calling  in  public,  and  were  confined  within  the 
four  walls  of  their  "Garden."  For  twenty  years  (1768-1788) 
the  projected  Nicobar  Mission  passed  from  one  stage  of  distress 
and  disappointment  to  another.  The  climate  proved  to  be 
positively  deadly ;  the  population,  which  was  split  up  into 
numberless  little  tribes  each  speaking  widely  different  Malayan 
dialects,  belonged  to  the  very  lowest  stage  of  civilisation,  and 
did  not  show  itself  responsive  to  Christian  influences.  Com- 
munication with  the  outside  world  was  so  rare  and  so  unsafe 
that  the  missionaries  had  to  depend  for  their  support  entirely 
on  the  work  of  their  own  labour,  which  in  such  a  climate  was 
an  impossibility.  After  eleven  of  the  twenty-four  Brethren 
sent  out  had  died  at  Nancowry,  their  station  on  the  Nicobar 
Islands,  and  the  thirteen  remaining  had  died  soon  after  their 
return   to  the  "  Garden  of  the  Brethren  "  at  Tranquebar,  the 


THE  DANISH  M,ISSION  125 

hopeless  post  was  given  up  (1788).  At  Tranquebar  the 
Brethren  who  were  still  sent  out  in  large  numbers  confined 
themselves  with  praiseworthy  meekness  to  their  own  quarters, 
in  order  to  avoid  any  collision  with  the  Lutherans,  who 
however  stood  in  urgent  need  of  their  help,  both  on  account  of 
their  own  paucity  of  men  and  also  on  account  of  the  doors 
that  were  being  opened  up  to  them  in  every  direction,  especially 
in  Tinnevelly  and  Madura.  But  they  would  sooner  have  seen 
their  work  run  aground  than  summon  the  "  brethren  who  were 
in  the  other  ship"  to  their  aid.  After  the  Herrnhuters  had 
patiently  withstood  continuous  ill-fortune  and  disappointment 
for  over  forty-three  years,  the  "  Garden  of  the  Brethren  "  was 
at  length  closed  in  1803.  No  less  than  seventy  Brethren  had 
been  sent  out  in  the  first  twenty-five  years,  more  than  three 
times  as  many  missionaries  as  had  come  out  during  the  same 
period  in  connection  with  the  Danish  Mission,  and  all  this 
splendid  missionary  force  was  crushed  out  of  existence  through 
pure  denominational  jealousy.  The  sole  success  the  Brethren 
won  was  that  "  through  the  practical  demonstration  of 
Christianity  which  they  gave  in  their  life  and  conduct,  the 
attention  of  many  was  drawn  to  the  essential  principles  of  the 
Christian  religion." 

Just  as  the  mission  itself  had  undergone  great  changes, 
consequent  on  its  extension  to  Madras  and  Cuddalore  in 
the  north,  and  to  Trichinopoly  and  Tanjore  in  the  west,  so 
had  the  external  circumstances  of  the  Danish  missionaries 
been  subject  to  great  alteration.  The  first  of  their  number 
had  been  sent  out  as  "  royal  Danish  missionaries,"  and  had 
received  their  stipends  from  the  treasury  of  the  Missionary 
College,  whose  funds  were  made  up,  partly  of  private  subscrip- 
tions from  the  King  and  other  members  of  the  Royal  Family, 
and  partly  of  contributions  from  the  royal  treasuries  of  Denmark 
and  Norway.  It  is  obvious  that  since  the  funds  of  the  Mission 
were  of  this  semi-official  nature  they  could  only  be  used  in  the 
interests  of  actual  Danish  possessions,  i.e.  on  behalf  of  the 
evangelisation  of  the  little  Danish  colony  of  Tranquebar.  All 
the  other  principal  stations  lay  outside  Danish  territory.  Now 
in  1709  the  Society  for  Promoting  Christian  Knowledge 
(S.P.C.K.,  founded  1698),  stimulated  by  the  words  of  the 
Lutheran  court  preacher  in  London,  Bohme,  had  begun  to 
support  the  Danish  Mission,  though  at  first  only  with  in- 
dividual and  irregular  gifts.  In  1728,  on  being  approached 
by  the  missionary  B.  Schultze,  this  Society  determined  to 
adopt  Madras  as  its  special  mission  field  and  Schultze  as  its 
first  Indian  missionary;  in  1730  it  invited  from  Germany  the 
excellent  Sartorius  to  enter  its  service.     It  thus  took  its  stand 


126  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

alongside  the  Danish  Missionary  College  as  a  more  or  less 
independent  Missionary  Board,  without  however  any  attempt 
being  made  to  carefully  define  the  rights  of  either.  For  as  a 
matter  of  fact  all  that  either  Missionary  College  or  Missionary 
Society  had  to  do  was  to  pay  the  missionaries'  salaries.  The 
Francke  Institutions  selected  the  missionaries,  and  the  Franckes, 
both  father  and  son,  saw  to  it  most  jealously  that  only  Germans, 
and  students  and  friends  of  their  own  establishment,  were 
employed.  Fenger,  a  Dane,  testifies  (according  to  one  of  Dai's 
letters):  "All  the  affairs  of  the  mission  are  transacted  in  German; 
it  is  the  language  used  in  the  Conferences,  in  the  Collegiis 
biblicis,  and  in  the  prayer-meetings  ;  letters  to  other  missionaries, 
to  England,  to  Denmark,  to  one's  superiors  even,  are  written  in 
German,  and  German  letters  are  received  in  return "  (Fenger, 
History,  p.  163).  It  was  only  to  be  expected  that,  in  view  of 
this  German  character  of  the  work,  the  Lutheran  pietism  of 
Halle  should  wholly  dominate  the  mission  in  India.  A  few 
missionaries  such  as  Schwartz,  though  even  he  had  his  scruples, 
were  broad-minded  enough  to  use  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer 
for  the  English  who  attended  their  services.  But  when  Geister, 
a  weak  and  unreliable  fellow,  sought  to  introduce  the  English 
Catechism  into  the  mission  schools  at  Madras,  even  the  mild 
Fabricius  lost  his  temper,  and  went  so  far  as  to  break  off  all 
intercourse  with  his  self-willed  colleague ;  and  Francke  the 
younger  wrote  on  this  occasion  :  "  Rather  let  everything  decay 
and  fall  to  pieces  than  agree  with  any  such  proceeding.  If  the 
English  Society  in  Madras  will  not  reverse  the  decision,  the 
Danish  missionaries  must  retire  to  Tranquebar,  and  we  shall 
withdraw  all  supplies."  "  The  Mission  at  Madras  was  com- 
menced as  an  evangelical  Lutheran  Mission  .  .  .  and  it  must 
never  be  regarded  in  any  other  light  than  as  an  evangelical 
Lutheran  Mission."  Apart  from  this  the  missionaries  were 
practically  untroubled  by  restrictions  from  the  home  authorities. 
Rev.  A.  Westcott,  a  High  Churchman  who  would  naturally 
have  stood  up  for  all  the  rights  of  his  own  Church  with  regard 
to  this  mission — which  afterwards  passed  into  the  hands  of  the 
Anglicans — writes  (in  Our  Oldest  Indian  Mission,  p.  19):  "The 
missionaries  themselves  used  to  confirm  and  meet  together  for 
ordinations.  The  catechists  used  to  baptize.  Each  congregation 
was  independent  and  ruled  by  its  own  missionary,  although  the 
missionaries  would  occasionally  meet,  as  it  were,  in  Synod,  and 
were  in  the  habit  of  accepting  guidance  of  any  more  prominent 
men,  as,  for  example,  of  Schwartz,  whom  his  brother-missionaries 
always  regarded  as  their  spiritual  father  and  created  into  a 
quasi-bishop.  Each  missionary  in  local  affairs  was  assisted  by 
his   catechists,   who,   under   his   presidency,  formed   a   sort   of 


THE  DANISH  MISSION  127 

disciplinary  council,  the  decisions  of  which  in  various  matters 
brought  before  them  were  usually  confirmed  by  the  civil  power. 
The  missionary  was  in  fact  regarded  as  the  head  of  a  community, 
on  the  same  principle  as  native  headmen  were  recognised,  and 
was  permitted  to  fine,  flog,  and  otherwise  punish  offenders 
belonging  to  his  community."  There  was  thus  a  most  peculiar 
and  complicated  condition  of  things — three  governing  bodies 
working  side  by  side,  but  whose  respective  rights  were  as  yet 
wholly  undefined,  and  each  of  which  had  under  its  auspices 
missionaries  and  native  churches  practically  independent.  It  is 
no  wonder  that  when  in  the  nineteenth  century  the  rights  of 
missions  and  missionary  societies  were  placed  on  a  very  much 
firmer  basis,  and  when  the  governing  bodies  of  the  different 
societies,  which  had  hitherto  worked  happily  together,  took  up 
a  position  of  complete  separation,  unedifying  friction  often 
occurred. 

We  are  unable  to  state  the  exact  number  of  members 
composing  the  various  native  churches  under  the  direction  of  the 
mission  at  the  close  of  the  eighteenth  century,  i.e.  about  the 
time  of  Schwartz's  death.  According  to  calculations  made  by 
Chaplain  Hough  at  Palamcottah,  which  were  based  on  the 
Lutheran  Church  records,  the  total  number  of  converts  baptized 
prior  to  1806  was — 

In  Tranquebar,  together  with  country  congregations  and  including 

Tanjore  up  to  1778 
In  Tanjore,  1778-1806  {i.e.  after  Schwartz's  advent  there) 
In  Trichinopoly,  from  1762  (  ,,  ,, 

In  Madras,  from  1727 
In  Cuddalore,  from  1737 
In  Tinnevelly,  from  1778 


We  are  justified  in  concluding  that  not  more  than  half  of 
these  would  have  been  removed  by  death  or  other  causes ;  we 
may  therefore  count  the  entire  number  of  adherents  of  the 
Danish  Mission  about  the  year  1800  at  from  18,000  to  20,000 
souls.^ 

Fifty-seven  Danish  missionaries  went  out  to  India  between 
1706  and  1846;  20  died  and  were  buried  in  Tranquebar,  and 
22  at  other  stations  in  the  Tamil  country;  only  15  returned  to 
their  fatherland. 

^  Hough,  History  of  Christianity  in  India,  vol.  iii. 


20,014 

lere) .' 

3,000 

) 

2,463 
4,851 
2,104 
4,538 

Sum  total 

36,970 

CHAPTER   III 

THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  PROTESTANT  MISSIONS 
DURING  THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY 

I.  The  Age  of  William  Carey  (1792-1833) 

(a)   Tlie  Daivn  of  Modern  Missions  in  India 

Just  as  the  Danish  Mission,  with  the  one  exception  of  the  Httle 
Danish  settlement  of  Tranquebar,  had  substantially  identified 
itself  with  the  English  colonies  in  South  India,  halting 
where  they  halted  and  advancing  where  they  advanced,  so 
modern  missionary  work  in  India  has  as  its  background  and 
setting  the  Anglo-Indian  Empire ;  it  is  intimately  connected 
with  the  beginnings  of  that  empire,  and  has  extended  along 
with  it  from  one  end  of  the  country  to  the  other.  This  fact 
must  be  borne  in  mind  when  seeking  rightly  to  estimate  the 
importance  of  English  colonisation  for  Indian  missions.  No 
thanks,  however,  is  due  in  the  matter  to  the  East  India  Com- 
pany, the  founder  of  this  magnificent  empire.  That  Company 
gave  no  helping  hand  to  missionary  work ;  it  performed  the 
services  of  herald  and  forerunner  to  which  Providence  had 
called  it  in  an  unwilling  and  reluctant  manner,  and  every  foot 
of  broad  land  which  the  cause  of  missions  gained  had  to  be 
wrung  from  it  by  main  force. 

For  one  and  a  half  centuries,  from  its  founding  in  1600  up  to 
the  battle  of  Plassey  in  1757,  the  East  India  Company  had  been 
simply  a  commercial  undertaking,  and  had  contented  itself  with 
dotting  all  round  the  coast  trading-ports  and  factories  which 
were  hardly  as  important  as  those  European  settlements  that 
we  find  to-day  in  the  Treaty  Ports  of  China.  Moreover,  it  was 
animated  by  the  true  small  tradesman's  policy  of  seeking  on 
the  one  hand  its  own  enrichment,  and  on  the  other  of  driving 
from  the  field  or  attempting  to  cripple — and  that  often  by 
unfair  means — rivals  who  poured  into  the  country  from  every 
quarter.  Frenchmen,  Dutchmen,  Danes,  and  Portuguese.  The 
policy  of  blow  upon  blow  and  stroke  upon  stroke  inaugurated 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  PROTESTANT  MISSIONS       129 

by  those  strenuously  active  leaders  and  Governors,  Clive  and 
Warren  Hastings  —  which  led  in  South  India  to  the  pro- 
longed and  dire  struggle  with  France  already  alluded  to — shook 
the  province  of  Bengal  into  the  hands  of  the  Company  as  ripe 
fruit  is  shaken  from  the  tree.  The  possession  of  this  province, 
which  in  extent,  population,  and  the  inexhaustible  fertility  of  its 
soil  far  surpassed  the  mother  country,  was  all  the  more  valuable 
because  there  lay  on  the  farther  side  of  it,  helpless  and  crouching 
at  the  feet  of  the  conquerors,  the  empire  of  the  Great  Moghuls, 
Hindustan,  with  its  untold  wealth  and  its  vast  territories 
stretching  away  into  what  was  then  well-nigh  unrealisable 
distance. 

Up  to  this  time  the  Company  had  not  taken  the  slightest 
interest  in  the  spiritual  welfare  of  the  Hindus.  It  is  true  that 
in  the  Charter  of  1698  there  was  a  clause:  "The  chaplains  in 
the  factories  are  to  study  the  vernacular  language,  the  better  to 
enable  them  to  instruct  the  Gentoos  that  shall  be  the  servants  or 
slaves  of  the  same  Company,  or  of  their  agents,  in  the  Protestant 
religion;"  but  in  the  general  scramble  for  riches  the  clause  had 
remained  a  dead  letter.  However,  in  the  very  next  year  after 
Plassey,  1758,  Protestant  missions  were  commenced  in  Bengal. 
A  Swede,  Rev.  John  Kiernander,  who  had  been  sent  out-to 
South  India  by  the  Danish  Missionary  Board,  found  himself 
homeless  in  consequence  of  the  pillaging  of  the  town  and  mission 
station  of  Cuddalore  by  the  French  in  1757  ;  and,  as  the  entire 
south  was  re-echoing  with  strife  and  the  shock  of  battle,  he 
turned  his  steps  towards  Bengal.  The  time  was  ripe  for  his 
coming.  A  few  clergymen  had,  it  is  true,  been  sent  out  from 
time  to  time  to  the  English  in  North  India;  but  some  of  them 
received  such  infinitesimal  salaries  that  they  were  obliged  to 
eke  out  a  livelihood  by  engaging  in  business,  others  had  not 
sufficient  spiritual  and  moral  grit  to  keep  themselves  unspotted 
from  the  world  in  the  dissolute  atmosphere  of  Anglo-Indian 
society,  whilst  yet  others  were  already  bringing  over  from  England 
the  colourless  and  unsatisfying  Deism  of  their  time.  In  a  word, 
they  were  not  "  salt,"  they  gave  forth  no  "  savour."  Besides  all 
this,  the  last  two  of  these  clergymen  had  just  perished  in  the 
frightful  tragedy  of  the  Black  Hole,  1756,  and  for  the  moment 
there  was  not  one  clergyman  left  in  Calcutta.  So  Kiernander 
was  gladly  welcomed.  Without  hesitation,  Clive  allowed  him 
a  free  hand  in  the  discharge  of  his  missionary  duties.  He 
soon  created  for  himself  a  sphere  of  influence  such  as  he  had 
had  amongst  the  Tamils ;  he  preached  to  the  English  and 
administered  to  them  the  sacraments ;  and  he  gathered  together 
a  congregation  of  "  Portuguese."  (This  was  the  name  commonly 
bestowed  at  that  time  upon  the  offspring  of  European  fathers 
9 


130  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

and  native  mothers.  It  was  applied  in  the  first  place  to  that 
older  and  fairly  numerous  generation  now  called  the  Goanese, 
who,  dating  from  the  days  of  Portuguese  colonial  supremacy, 
adhere  even  in  our  own  time  almost  entirely  to  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church,  and  have  well-nigh  sunk  to  the  level  of  an 
Indian  mixed  caste ;  it  was  likewise  applied  to  the  newer  and 
rapidly  increasing  generation  of  English  descent  who  have  since 
the  middle  of  the  last  century  conformed  for  the  most  part  to 
the  Protestant  Church— the  present-day  Eurasians.)  Eor  these 
different  classes  of  people  Kiernander  built  schools,  and  at  great 
personal  sacrifice  and  at  a  cost  of  £8000  sterling  (for  he  had 
married  a  lady  of  wealth)  he  built  the  great,  so-called  "  Old 
Church,"  which  in  the  hands  of  the  C.M.S.  is  still  in  active  use, 
and  which  for  thirty  years  was  the  only  Christian  church  in 
Bengal.  He  called  it  "  Beth  Tephillah,"  the  "  House  of  Prayer." 
A  young  German  missionary,  Rev.  J,  C.  Diemer,  was  sent  to 
his  assistance,  but  does  not  appear  to  have  remained  long. 
Kiernander  himself  stayed  at  his  post  for  twenty-eight  years 
(1758-1786),  and  his  work  was  much  blessed.  At  his  death 
there  was  a  congregation  of  301  members,  of  whom  half  were 
English,  and  almost  all  the  rest  "  Portuguese. "  As  helpers  in 
his  "Portuguese"  work  he  had  the  learned  Jose  da  Costa,  a 
former  Dominican  monk,  who  had  been  brought  to  the  light  by 
Fabricius  in  Madras,  and  the  Padre  Bento,  likewise  a  converted 
Roman  Catholic.  It  is  scarcely  right  to  say  that  Kiernander  took 
part  in  actual  mission  work  ;  he  could  speak  neither  Bengali  nor 
Hindustani  with  any  degree  of  ease  ;  a  few  Christian  tracts  are 
asserted  to  have  been  translated  into  the  vernacular  either  by 
him  or  w^ith  his  help ;  he  is  also  said  to  have  baptized  eight 
Muhammadans  and  ten  Hindus.  The  only  Christian  Hindu  of 
note  at  the  arrival  of  the  Baptist  missionaries  was  Ganesa 
Das  of  Delhi,  Persian  interpreter  and  translator  at  the  Supreme 
Court  of  Calcutta,  who  had  been  baptized  by  Kiernander  in 
1774.  When  Carey  arrived  at  Calcutta,  seven  years  after 
Kiernander's  death,  he  was  hardly  able  to  discover  a  single 
vestige  of  his  missionary  activity.  Furthermore,  Kiernander's 
last  days  were  full  of  gloom.  He  was  quite  blind.  Through 
his  own  unbounded  generosity  and  the  folly  of  his  son,  he 
became  a  bankrupt  and  was  thrown  into  the  debtors'  prison. 
His  church  came  under  the  hammer,  and  was  only  saved  thanks 
to  the  intervention  of  the  noble  Charles  Grant.  A  successful 
operation  once  more  gave  Kiernander  the  use  of  his  eyes. 
Freed  from  jail,  he  hastened  to  the  Dutch  colony  of  Chinsurah, 
where  he  wished  to  be  appointed  chaplain.  There  he  died ; 
his  Calcutta  work  came  to  an  end,  because  no  one  was 
sufficiently  interested  in  it  to  carry  it  on.     Thus  Kiernander  was 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  PROTESTANT  MISSIONS       131 

not  a  pioneer  of  Indian  missions,  and  it  should  be  remembered 
that  the  Government  placed  no  obstacles  in  his  way. 

Contemporaneously  with  Kiernander,  Moravian  Brethren 
worked  for  a  space  of  fifteen  years  (i  777-1 792)  in  Ser^mpore  (then 
belonging  to  Denmark  and  called  Frederiksnagar) ;  they  also 
endeavoured  to  obtain  a  foothold  in  Calcutta  and  Patna.  They 
learnt  Bengali,  compiled  a  Dictionary,  and  translated  a  number 
of  books  and  Scriptures  into  the  vernacular.  But  as  no  success 
whatever  crowned  their  efforts,  they  lost  heart  and  retired  to 
Tranquebar  in  1791,  i.e.  just  before  Carey's  arrival.  Scarcely 
a  trace  of  their  work  appears  to  be  extant  either  in  Serampore 
or  Calcutta. 

Modern  missionary  work  in  India  dates  from  November  i  ith, 
1793,  the  day  upon  which  William  Carey  ^  landed  in  Calcutta. 
Its  first  two  decades  were  gloomy  enough.  The  Company  which 
on  many  occasions  had  supported  missionary  labour  in  the 
south  of  India  and  had  always  maintained  a  friendly  attitude 
towards  them,  which  had  moreover  allowed  Kiernander  to  work 
undisturbed  in  Calcutta  for  a  quarter  of  a  century,  had  in  the 
meantime  changed  its  religious  policy,  and  now  adopted, 
definitely  and  resolutely,  an  inimical  attitude  towards  missionary 
work.  No  preaching  of  the  gospel  was  to  be  permitted  in  the 
Company's  territories.  When  Rev.  John  Chamberlain,  a  Baptist 
missionary,  was  expelled  from  Hindustan  on  account  of  some 
harmless  preaching  at  a  great  Indian  Diela  at  Hardwar,  and 
complained  about  it  to  an  otherwise  well-intentioned  Governor- 
General,  the  Marquess  of  Hastings,  the  latter  coolly  replied, 
"  One  might  fire  a  pistol  into  a  magazine  and  it  might  not 
explode,  but  no  wise  man  would  hazard  the  experiment."  The 
opinion  was  general, "  even  amongst  many  of  the  most  enlightened 
British  officials  in  the  country,  that  there  could  be  no  more 
dangerous  means  of  estranging  the  hearts  of  the  people  from  the 
Government,  and  no  surer  way  of  endangering  the  stability  of 
the  English  rule,  than  by  attempting  to  meddle  with  the 
religious  concerns  of  the  Hindus,  however  prudently  and 
carefully  one  might  set  to  work.  All  were  convinced  that 
rebellion,  civil  war,  and  universal  unrest  would  certainly  accom- 
pany every  attempt  to  promote  missionary  enterprise,  and,  above 
all,  that  the  conversion  of  a  high-caste  native  soldier  would 
inevitably  mean  the  disbanding  of  the  army  and  the  overthrow 
of  British  rule  in  India."     Thus  did  the  English  chaplain  Fisher 

'  William  Carey  was  born  on  August  17th,  1 761,  in  the  village  of  Paulerspurj',  in 
Northampton.  lie  was  the  son  of  a  poor  country  schoolmaster,  and  in  his  youth  was 
a  cobbler.  In  1783  he  joined  the  Baptists,  and  after  overcoming  unspeakable  diffi- 
culties, he  became  the  founder  of  the  B.M.S.  in  October  1792,  at  Kettering.  His 
manifold  activities  in  arousing  a  missionary  spirit  in  England  and  Scotland  before  his 
departure  for  India  do  not  come  within  the  scope  of  this  work. 


132  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

succinctly  describe  the  general  feeling  in  India  on  his  arrival 
there  in  1812. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  every  attempt  on  the  part  of  the 
soldiers  to  embrace  Christianity  was  suppressed  in  the  Ben- 
gal army,  though  not  in  the  armies  of  Madras  and  Bombay, 
which  still  remained  independent.  When  in  18 19  a  Brahman 
of  high  rank,  an  orderly  sergeant  who  had  been  decorated  for 
bravery,  Naick  (Corporal)  Prabhu  Din  by  name,  was  baptized 
at  Meerut,  he  was  driven  out  of  the  army.  In  1830,  as  the 
Government  chaplain  at  Allahabad,  Craufurd,  was  preparing 
to  baptize  some  soldiers  who  had  been  converted  through  his 
teaching,  this  was  not  only  forbidden  in  the  strongest  terms 
from  Calcutta,  but  at  the  same  time  an  order  was  issued  to  all 
the  chaplains,  forbidding  them  to  speak  to  the  Sepoys  about 
religion  under  any  circumstances  whatsoever.^ 

Further,  the  English  officials  had,  almost  without  excep- 
tion, abandoned  the  principles  of  Christian  morality.  Even  a 
Governor-General  like  Warren  Hastings  and  his  inconvenient 
rival,  Philip  Francis,  were  not  ashamed  to  live  in  open  adultery. 
Their  sole  connection  with  the  Church  was  that  once  a  year, 
at  Christmas  or  at  Easter,  they  attended  divine  service  in 
great  state.  Then  the  natives,  open-mouthed,  assembled  in 
droves  to  witness  the  extraordinary  spectacle  of  Englishmen 
"  doing  puja  " — worshipping,  as  they  themselves  were  wont  to 
do  in  presence  of  their  idols.  Over-zealous  Orientalists,  more- 
over, sang  the  praises  of  the  religions  of  the  East,  especially 
of  the  then  newly  discovered  Indian  religions  and  systems  of 
philosophy,  and  even  if  every  one  did  not  go  so  far  as  to 
declare  them  to  be  better  and  truer  than  Christianity,  still  the 
general  opinion  was  that  they  were  quite  good  enough  for 
the  Hindus,  and  better  adapted  to  their  necessities  than 
Western  forms  of  religion.  Besides  all  this,  the  Company 
took  up  the  narrow-minded  point  of  view  that  it  would  have 
no  European  within  its  territories  who  was  not  engaged  in  its 
service  or  who  did  not  hold  its  passport :  if  any  such  person 
were  allowed,  he  would  probably  enter  into  business  relation- 
ships behind  its  back  and  thus  lessen  its  gains;  or  he  might 
talk  about  its  methods  of  colonial  government  on  his  return 
home,  and  there  were  many  things  which  there  was  every 
reason  to  keep  concealed  from  European  eyes  and  ears. 

(b)   T/ie  Serainpore  Trio 

With  such  surroundings  and  in  such  an  atmosphere  it  was 
of  course  difficult  for  missionary  work  to  gain  any  foothold  at 

1  Stock,  History  of  C. M.S.,  ii.  p.  237,  and  Evang.  Mission.  Mag.,  185S,  p.  396. 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  PROTESTANT  MISSIONS       133 

all.      For   Carey  there  were  also  other  additional   hindrances. 
It    was    a    certain     Dr.    Thomas,^    a    Baptist,    who    had    first 
directed    the    attention    of   Carey  and   his   friends    to   Bengal  : 
in  the  founding  of  their  mission  they  hoped  great  things  from 
Thomas's    medical  experience,  his  knowledge  of  Bengali,  and 
his  acquaintance  with  the   English   as  well    as  the  Hindus    of 
Calcutta.     What  they  did  not  know  was  that  Thomas,  by  his 
unsteady  and  eccentric  conduct,  his  foolish  debts  and  his  hot- 
headed    behaviour,    had    become    the    very   enfant   ferrible   of 
Calcutta    society.      Carey    was    not    only  discredited,   but    was 
also  brought    into  great    difficulties    through    being    connected 
with  him.     It   was  because  of  Thomas  that    the  missionaries 
were  refused    permission    to  go  out   on    an  English  ship,  and 
they  were  fortunate  in  finding  a  Danish  one  to  take  them.     It 
was   owing   to  him  that   the   i&w   English    people   of  decided 
Christian    character  in  Calcutta  held   entirely  aloof  from    the 
newcomers.     Moreover,  Carey  and   his  friends  were  boycotted 
in  Calcutta  because  of  their   presumably  apostolic  ideal — that 
missionaries    should   support   themselves   as   soon  as  possible, 
and    earn  their  bread  by  the  labour  of  their   own  hands.     So 
that  the  first  six  months  in  India  were  very  trying  for  Carey 
and  his  family,  amongst  the  members  of  which  Thomas  must 
also   be   reckoned.     Under   the   most   unfavourable  conditions 
they  attempted  several  times  to  settle  down  as  planters.     The 
slender   supplies   wdiich    they   had    brought    with    them    from 
England   were   soon    recklessly  squandered    by  Thomas.     An 
attempt  of  Carey  to  obtain  a  profitable  situation  as  a  gardener 
in  Calcutta  failed.     He  and  Thomas  had  at  length  to  content 
themselves  with  a  position  as  overseers  of  the  Mudnabati  indigo 
plantation  in  the  out-of-the-way  district  of  Dinajpur,  in  Northern 
Bengal.     This  post  was  obtained  for  them  through  the  kindly 
offices  of  Udny,  who  had  to  lay  down  a  large  sum  of  money 
as   security   for   their   good   behaviour.      The   six    months    of 
privation    had    robbed    Carey  of  a  child   and   his  wife  of  her 
reason,  and  she  remained  in  that  unhappy  condition  until  her 
death.     In  this  retired  and  unhealthy  indigo  district    the  sur- 
vivors, at   any  rate  as  far   as   their   missionary  activities  were 
concerned,  were  as  good  as  dead.     A  young  missionary.  Rev. 
John  Fountain,  who  had  been  sent  out  subsequently  and  had 
been  "smuggled"  into   the  country  as  a    man-servant,  turned 
out  to  be  such  a  red-hot  Radical  in  politics  that  he  did  nothing 

^  Dr.  John  Thomas  had  come  to  India  as  ship's  doctor  in  1786,  and  had  for  three 
years  been  busily  engaged  in  the  service  of  that  noble  agent  of  the  Company,  Charles 
Grant,  in  order  to  go  as  missionary  to  Gomalti  in  Bengal — where  he  spent  ;!^iooo  of 
Grant's  money.  Owing  to  his  unstable  ways  and  his  debts,  all  relationship  between 
the  two  men  was  at  length,  however,  broken  ofi".  In  1792,  therefore,  he  returned  to 
England,  in  order  to  gain  new  friends. 


134  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

but  compromise  both  mission  and  missionaries.  Under  these 
circumstances  it  was  a  direct  leading  of  Providence  that  when 
four  other  missionaries,  amongst  them  being  John  Marshman 
and  W.  VVard,^  were  sent  out  in  1799  on  board  an  American 
ship,  they  were  sent  on  by  the  captain  of  the  ship,  on  his  own 
responsibiHty,  to  the  Danish  colony  of  Serampore,  three  miles 
north  of  Calcutta,  and  placed  under  the  protection  of  the 
Danish  flag.  Carey  perceived  at  once  how  much  more  advan- 
tageous Serampore  was  for  the  starting-point  and  future  exten- 
sion of  the  mission,  abandoned  all  the  laborious  and  difficult 
beginnings  of  work  he  had  made  in  Mudnabati  and  Dinajpur, 
and  in  1800  took  up  his  residence  also  at  Serampore. 

It  appears  little  less  than  a  miracle  that  under  such 
conditions  and  in  spite  of  all  these  obstacles,  the  mission 
became  not  only  firmly  rooted  in  Calcutta  and  Bengal  by 
181 3,  but  it  even  gained  considerable  power,  before  which  in 
the  end  all  opposition  on  the  part  of  the  Company  was  silenced. 
The  principal  role  in  this  revolution  of  affairs  was  played  by 
the  famous  "  Serampore  Trio,"  Dr.  Carey  and  his  two  faithful 
comrades,  Marshman  and  Ward.  One  cannot  but  esteem  it 
as  an  especially  gracious  interposition  of  Providence  that  God 
should  have  brought  this  trio  of  wise  and  capable  missionaries 
together,  and  have  placed  them  at  the  commencement  of 
mission  work  in  India.  They  are  its  veritable  pioneers.  The 
education  of  all  three  was  defective :  Carey  had  been  a  cobbler 
from  his  earliest  days.  Ward  a  printer,  Marshman  a  ragged- 
school  teacher.  But  all  of  them  were  of  that  type  of  self-made 
men  so  frequently  to  be  met  with  in  English  history,  men  of 
insatiable  appetite  for  learning  and  of  practical  ability,  who 
were  dismayed  by  no  difficulties,  and  whose  industry  and 
patience  knew  no  limits.  Carey  especially  was  a  man  of  heroic 
diligence.     In  all  three  the  truth  was  abundantly  verified  that 

^  The  other  two,  Brunsdon  and  Grant,  died  a  few  years  later.  Charles  Grant,  at 
that  time  a  Director  of  the  Company,  had  given  all  four  the  sage  advice  to  proceed 
direct  to  Serampore,  and  to  place  themselves  under  the  protection  of  the  Danish  flag. 
The  Danish  commander  at  that  time,  Colonel  Bie,  and  since  then  the  Kings  of 
Denmark  (up  to  1845),  deemed  it  a  point  of  honour  to  be  patrons  of  the  youthful 
mission.  An  inauspicious  star  ruled  the  first  years  of  the  Serampore  Mission.  The 
very  next  year,  1800,  the  town  was  taken  by  the  English,  but  after  an  occupation  of 
over  fourteen  months  it  was  again  surrendered  ;  from  1808  to  1815  it  was  once  more 
in  English  hands,  but  the  English  left  the  missionaries  undisturbed.  Serampore  was 
then  at  the  height  of  its  importance.  It  was  the  centre  of  all  that  commerce  which 
was  not  entirely  in  the  hands  of  the  English  :  for  the  other  two  foreign  settlements  up 
the  Ganges,  the  French  Chandernagore  and  the  Dutch  Chinsurah.  were  occupied  by 
the  English  during  this  whole  period.  It  must  be  remembered  that  these  non- 
English  settlements  were  a  veritable  thorn  in  the  flesh  to  the  lords  of  the  land,  since 
everybody  who  came  into  collision  with  the  English,  and  especially  debtors,  blacklegs, 
and  the  like,  was  accustomed  to  find  a  sure  refuge  there,  far  out  of  the  reach  of  the 
English  police. 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  PROTESTANT  MISSIONS       135 

the  missionary  calling  is  a  high  and  noble  school  in  which 
characters  are  wrought  to  fine  issues  and  where  gifts  are 
developed  which  at  home  would  probably  have  remained  for 
ever  dormant.  Moreover,  they  were  all  three  of  boundless 
devotion  to  their  calling,  and  filled  with  a  holy  determination 
to  dedicate  their  whole  being,  all  they  had  and  every  power  of 
body  and  soul,  to  missionary  work.  And  each  acted  as  a 
complement  to  the  other  so  perfectly  and  harmoniously  that 
their  living  together  tripled  their  power  for  work.  They  had 
one  household  in  common  in  Serampore  until  their  death,  and 
stood  by  one  another  inseparably  in  weal  and  woe  and  during 
years  of  severest  trial. 

At  this  time  England  had  had  a  real  foothold  in  India  for 
only  about  one  generation,  and  as  the  first  decades  had  been 
fully  occupied  with  the  inevitable  task  of  inaugurating  the 
new  administration,  people  were  but  just  beginning  to  investi- 
gate the  country.  It  is  very  suggestive  that  in  spite  of  their 
having  been  in  possession  for  hundreds  of  years,  neither  Portugal 
nor  Holland  had  done  anything  of  importance  for  the  scientific 
exploration  of  India.  But  no  sooner  did  it  come  into  the 
hands  of  the  English  than  Anglo-Saxon,  and  soon  Teutonic 
diligence  also,  grappled  with  the  many  problems  which  pre- 
sented themselves  on  every  hand.  Sanskrit  was  rediscovered, 
and  with  its  help  comparative  philology  came  into  being.  The 
old  Indian  Vedic  and  Epic  literature  was  brought  to  light, 
and  the  new  world  of  ancient  Indian  history  attracted  many 
investigators.  The  flora  and  fauna  of  the  wondrous  tropic 
belt  was  systematised,  and  one  new  species  after  another  was 
discovered.  In  short,  it  was  an  era  of  great  awakening  for 
science  in  its  most  varied  branches.  At  such  a  time  it  was 
remarkable  that  a  missionary.  Dr.  Carey,  should  quickly  take 
an  important,  nay  rather,  a  commanding  place  in  the  ranks 
of  the  pioneers  of  scientific  research.  A  happy  series  of  events 
contributed  thereto.  The  training  of  Anglo-Indian  officials 
left  much  to  be  desired ;  very  frequently  unsuitable  or  in- 
sufficiently trained  persons  were  sent  out.  Governor-General 
Lord  Wellesley  therefore  conceived  the  plan  of  erecting  a 
College  in  Calcutta  for  the  training  of  candidates  for  the 
Indian  civil  and  military  services,  and  of  making  a  three  years' 
course  there  obligatory ;  and  he  was  wise  enough  to  attach 
special  importance  to  the  fact  that  young  officials  must  be 
made  acquainted  with  the  languages  of  the  country.  The 
College   was   built   at    Fort   William,  near   Calcutta,  in   1801.^ 

^  It  will  easily  be  understood  that  the  English  Directors  of  the  Company  viewed 
this  very  costly  institution  in  anything  but  a  friendly  light.  They  contended — and 
we  cannot  but  admit  the  correctness  of  their  opinion — that  the  thorough  training  of 


136  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

Carey,  who  by  his  recently  pubHshed  translation  of  the  New 
Testament  into  Bengali  had  proved  himself  to  be  a  complete 
master  of  that  language^ — in  fact,  the  greatest  living  student 
of  it — was  made  Master,  and  later,  Professor  of  Bengali,  Sanskrit, 
and  Marathi.  This  eminent  position  brought  him,  together 
with  a  princely  salary  of  ^1200  per  annum,  a  multitude  of 
scientific  activities  and,  thanks  to  his  unceasing  diligence,  soon 
made  a  brilliant  scholar  of  him.  He  gained  so  complete  a 
command  of  the  ever-difficult  Sanskrit  that  he  could  speak  it 
fluently,  and  published  a  Sanskrit  Grammar  and  Dictionary ; 
he  edited  three  volumes  of  the  Ramayana  and  other  old 
Sanskrit  works ;  soon  became  the  first  authority  on  those 
dialects  of  Aryan  origin  which  still  survived,  and  was  tireless 
in  the  composition  of  grammars  and  text-books  in  them. 
Besides  this,  he  was  one  of  the  cleverest  students  of  Indian 
flora,  and  he  kept  up  a  much-admired  botanical  garden  in 
Serampore  at  his  own  expense.  He  founded  the  Agricultural 
and  Horticultural  Society  of  Bengal,  which  soon  became  one 
of  the  most  renowned  and  influential  societies  of  the  capital. 
The  grateful  Society  honoured  its  modest  founder  by  placing 
his  bust  in  marble  in  their  Assembly  Hall.  Finally,  Carey 
was  a  member  of  a  large  number  of  the  learned  societies  of 
Europe,  and  was  in  constant  correspondence  with  the  first 
Orientalists  and  botanists  of  his  time. 

English  officials  could  be  better  accomplished  in  the  healthy  climate  of  England 
than  in  the  damp  heat  of  fever-swept  Calcutta,  and  that  a  good  general  education 
according  to  English  methods  was  at  least  as  important  for  them  as  a  knowledge  of 
specific  Indian  subjects.  They  therefore  founded  Haileybury  in  England  as  a  rival 
institution.  Fort  William  College  came  to  an  end  in  1830,  but  it  did  much  good 
work  during  the  thirty  years  of  its  existence.  Haileybury  too  went  down,  after  the 
Charter  of  1853  had  taken  the  magnificently  paid  Indian  posts  out  of  the  hands  of 
the  clique  of  Directors,  who  always  filled  them  with  their  own  creatures  and  proteges, 
and  had  opened  them  to  all  British  subjects.  Another  missionary  besides  Carey  was 
also  Professor  for  a  tin-.e  at  the  Fort  V^^lliam  College,  the  German  Patzold,  a  former 
Danish  missionary  at  Madras,  being  installed  as  Professor  of  Tamil.  (Translator's 
Note. — The  college  at  Haileybury  just  mentioned  lasted  from  1806  to  1858.  The 
present  public  school  dates  from  1862.) 

^  Carey  has  peculiar  claims  on  our  regard  because  of  what  he  did  for  the  Bengali 
language.  Of  the  modern  Aryan  languages  of  India,  only  two,  Hindi  and  Marathi, 
had  in  his  day  an  original  prose  literature.  In  Bengali  there  were  nothing  but 
"conceited"  poems,  the  contents  of  which  were  of  a  religious  or  philosophic  nature 
and  were  little  known  ;  in  fact,  they  had  well-nigh  fallen  into  oblivion.  Carey  was 
the  creator  of  Bengali  prose.  And  how  powerfully  he  impressed  his  own  great 
personality  on  a  task  so  apparently  opposed  to  the  ends  he  had  in  view,  may  be 
seen  when  one  remembers  that  even  to-day  the  Bengali  language  bears  his  ineffaceable 
stamp.  He  held  it  to  be  his  duty  to  regenerate  and  enrich  modern  Indian  speech 
with  words  borrowed  from  Sanskrit,  just  as  modern  French  is  enriched  by  mots 
savants  taken  from  Latin.  This  lavish  besprinkling  of  their  language  with  Sanskrit 
words  is  so  remarkably  to  the  taste  of  Bengali  writers  that  it  has  remained  the  most 
striking  characteristic  of  their  language  —  though  whether  it  tends  towards  the 
development,  and  is  to  the  advantage,  of  that  language  is  a  question  upon  which 
present-day  philologists  differ. 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  PROTESTANT  MISSIONS       137 

This  active  scientific  life  in  the  midst  of  which  Carey  now 
found  himself  naturally  produced  a  very  considerable  literature. 
It  was  of  course  inconvenient  for  Anglo-Indian  writers  to  have 
their  books  printed  in  England,  because  when  that  was  done 
they  could  not  correct  the  proofs,  and  also  because  there  were 
not  enough  type-setters  qualified  to  undertake  work  of  such 
an  academic  character.  In  India,  on  the  other  hand,  printing 
was  still  in  its  infancy  and  scarcely  adequate  to  satisfy  the 
most  modest  demands.  Once  more  it  was  providential  that 
Carey  should  have  at  his  side  the  old  printer  Ward,  who 
through  extraordinary  industry  made  himself  master  of  his 
subject  and  built  a  magnificent  printing-house,  fitted  up  with 
its  own  paper-mill  and  type-foundry,  in  Serampore.  For 
many  of  the  tongues  of  India  and  Eastern  Asia  type  was  here 
first  cast,  and  the  earliest  printed  matter  in  such  languages  first 
brought  out.  Brilliant  scholars  like  Colebrooke  the  Orientalist 
and  Roxburgh  the  botanist  sent  their  works  here  to  be  printed. 
New  days  brought  to  the  Anglo-Indians  new  practical 
problems,  and  not  the  least  of  these  was  the  educational  one. 
It  was  not  at  that  time  a  hard-and-fast  rule — since  justified  by 
experience  —  to  send  the  children  of  Europeans,  whilst  still 
quite  young,  to  be  educated  in  England.  Besides,  the  rapidly 
increasing  number  of  Eurasians  demanded  the  installation  of 
schools  and  places  of  education.  Once  again  Serampore  led 
the  way.  The  former  ragged-school  teacher  Marshman  found 
here  a  wide  field  for  most  useful  activity.  Together  with  his 
equally  enthusiastic  wife,  Hannah  Marshman,  he  founded  a 
school  for  the  children  of  educated  parents  which  was  attended 
before  long  by  children  of  both  sexes  from  the  very  highest 
families  downwards,  and  which  maintained  its  high  reputation 
until  Marshman's  death  in  1837. 

Finally,  the  public  press  was  at  this  time  practically  non- 
existent. Every  attempt  to  create  or  to  influence  public  opinion 
was  looked  upon  by  the  ruling  classes  with  distrust.  And  yet 
it  was  of  the  very  deepest  moment  to  the  new  lords  of  the 
land  that  they  should  get  into  closer  touch  with  the  Hindus, 
that  they  should  understand  them  and  be  understood  by  them. 
It  demanded  the  utmost  tact  and  a  very  thorough  knowledge 
of  the  whole  situation  for  any  one  to  dare  to  found  a  newspaper. 
And  here  once  more  Serampore  made  the  start.  After  various 
small  attempts,  the  three  comrades  founded  in  181 8  a  Bengali 
newspaper,  SamacJiar  Darpan  (the  News -Mirror),  and  an 
English  magazine,  the  Friend  of  hidia.  Especially  was  the 
latter,  during  its  lifetime  of  fifty-seven  years  (1818-1875),  a  most 
influential  organ,  and  in  all  humane  reforms,  in  the  exposure 
of  heathen  outrages,  and  in  the  fight  against  the  evil  practices 


138  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

of  heathenism,  it  won  for  itself  high  name  and  praise.  In  this 
connection  it  should  be  noted  that  from  the  very  beginning 
the  Men  of  Serampore  took  up  a  neutral  and  loyal  standpoint 
in  politics,  and  they  never  once  gave  way  to  the  temptation, 
which  w^as  in  Danish  Serampore  an  oft-recurring  one,  to  agitate 
against  the  English  Government.  This  was  the  more  praise- 
worthy as,  according  to  the  widespread  prejudice  of  the  time, 
they  were  suspect  to  the  authorities  as  "  Anabaptists  and 
democrats."  By  this  upright  political  conduct  they  set  a 
splendid  example,  which  has  since  been  almost  universally 
followed  by  missionaries  of  all  nationalities  in  India,  and  they 
thus  rendered  an  invaluable  service  to  the  cause  of  Protestant 
missions. 

It  will  be  easily  understood  that  labours  so  many-sided  and 
of  such  great  scientific  and  practical  utility  soon  created  for 
the  Serampore  Brethren  a  unique  position  in  India,  as  well  as 
in  England.  In  India  the  most  distinguished  individuals,  even 
the  Governors-General,  held  it  almost  an  honour  to  hold  inter- 
course with  Carey.  Serampore  became  a  much  visited  shrine 
for  travellers  of  every  description.  And  in  England  in  every 
circle  of  society  not  totally  blinded  by  prejudice  the  opinion 
ran,  "  If  that  is  '  missions,'  we  can  only  be  heartily  thankful  and 
wish  them  every  success."  Of  course  to-day  we  are  all  agreed 
that  that  part  of  the  work  of  the  Men  of  Serampore  which 
has  just  been  described  was  only  loosely  connected  with  real 
missionary  enterprise,  and  if  two  or  three  missionaries  were 
to  enter  upon  the  same  branches  of  activity  in  India  nowadays 
we  should  probably  regard  them  most  critically.  But  the 
historian  has  to  appraise  justly  the  position  of  things  as  they 
were  at  a  given  time,  and  before  the  door  which  the  Serampore 
Trio  opened  so  widely  for  Protestant  missions  every  criticism 
is  hushed  to  silence. 

Alongside  this  comprehensive  and  many-sided  general  work 
they  also  did  a  great  deal  for  missions  financially.  They  were 
in  a  specially  favourable  position  for  so  doing.  The  enormous 
salary  which  Carey  drew  as  Professor  at  Fort  William  College 
and  Government  Translator,  the  very  considerable  returns  made 
by  some  of  his  scientific  books,  the  large  profits  of  the  two 
schools  directed  by  the  Marshmans,  and  the  income  from  the 
journalistic  branch  of  their  work,  put  them  in  possession  of  very 
large  sums  of  money.  And  they  were  unselfish  enough  to  put 
by  an  ever-dwindling  amount,  at  the  very  highest  a  tenth,  for 
their  own  personal  needs  or,  more  particularly,  to  supply  the 
wants  of  poor  relatives.  When  Carey  died  in  1834,  he  was  so 
poor  that  the  greater  part  of  his  library  had  to  be  sold  in  order 
to  bring  together  a  small  capital  sum  for  one  of  his  sons  who 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  PROTESTANT  MISSIONS       139 

was  in  need.  AH  the  income  flowed  into  a  common  purse,  and 
was  used  according  to  the  best  of  their  power  and  knowledge 
for  the  building  up  of  the  kingdom  of  God. 

We  can  only  speak  briefly  of  the  little  congregation  of  the 
faithful  in  and  around  Serampore  who  from  1801  onwards 
gradually  came  over  to  the  side  of  the  missionaries.  For  a  time 
it  seemed  as  though  Carey  would  accomplish  great  things  in 
this  respect  also.  Within  six  years  96  adults  were  baptized, 
amongst  them  being  six  Brahmans  and  nine  Muhammadans. 
But  no  far-reaching  movement  came  of  it.  After  Puri,  Serampore 
is  the  principal  seat  of  Jagannath  worship ;  in  the  neighbour- 
hood stands  the  famous  shrine  of  Tarakeshwar.  It  is  not 
propitious  soil  for  missionary  effort.  In  spite  of  much  preaching 
in  the  bazaars,  the  cause  at  Serampore  to-day  has  only  increased 
to  238  members.  But  the  missionary  labour  of  the  Men  of 
Serampore  was,  like  all  their  work,  conducted  on  broad  lines ; 
it  embraced  the  whole  of  India,  nay,  the  whole  of  Southern  Asia. 
It  expressed  itself  chiefly  in  three  directions. 

Carey's  dearest  project  was  to  give  the  Holy  Scriptures  to 
all  the  people  of  Asia  in  their  own  tongue.  The  translation  of 
the  Bible  he  regarded  as  his  life-work ;  all  his  philological 
studies  at  Fort  William  College  were  made  to  contribute  to  it ; 
the  entire  printing  works  at  Serampore  was  really  erected  for 
the  printing  of  the  Bible.  At  Mudnabati  Carey's  first  work  had 
been  to  translate  the  New  Testament  into  Bengali  :  the  reading 
of  the  proofs  of  the  eighth  edition  of  the  same  book  was  the  last 
thing  he  did,  as  he  lay  on  his  death-bed.  If  we  sum  up  what 
Carey  and  his  two  associates  translated  themselves,  what  they 
had  translated  by  their  pundits  but  personally  revised  and 
corrected,  and  then  what  translations  of  the  Bible  were  given 
them  by  friendly  missionaries  to  be  brought  out  by  the 
Serampore  press,  we  find  that  they  worked  upon  at  least 
forty  translations  of  the  whole  Bible  or  parts  of  it.  Carey's 
special  share  of  these  was  the  translation  of  the  whole  Bible 
into  Bengali,  Hindi,  Marathi,  and  Sanskrit,  and  numerous 
portions  of  the  Bible  into  other  Indian  languages  and  dialects. 
Almost  all  the  important  tongues  and  many  of  the  dialects  of 
India,  and  in  addition  Maldivese,  Javan,  Burmese,  Malayan, 
and  Chinese,  —  Marshman's  hobby,  —  are  represented  in  the 
Serampore  publications.  Modern  Indian  missions  begin  with 
a  heroic  attempt  to  give  the  Bible  to  all  the  peoples  of  the 
Southern  Asia  in  their  mother  tongue  ;  and  this  magnificent 
idea  practically  found  its  expression  at  Serampore.  It  must  be 
frankly  admitted  that  not  one  of  these  Serampore  versions  of 
the  Bible  is  in  use  to-day.  Soon  after  their  publication,  even, 
some  were  found  to  be  inaccurate  in  language  and  imperfect 


I40  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

in  idiom,  and  some  indeed  were  so  faulty  that  they  had  to  be 
replaced  by  completely  new  versions.  Even  the  best  of  them, 
such  as  Carey's  Bengali  and  Sanskrit  Bibles,  have  been  so 
thoroughly  revised  by  gifted  linguists  of  later  times,  such  as 
Yates  and  Wenger,  that  they  may  almost  be  termed  new 
versions.  In  spite  of  all  their  linguistic  ability,  Carey  and  his 
colleagues  scarcely  realised  the  difficulty  of  their  task  when 
they  attempted  to  Christianise  heathen  languages  and  transform 
them  into  vessels  meet  for  their  new  and  sacred  contents.  They 
translated  the  Bible  into  the  different  languages  literally  and 
at  haphazard,  just  as  a  clever  and  diligent  Sixth  Form  boy 
might  translate  the  Laocoon'^  into  Latin — perhaps  with  a 
correct  rendering  of  the  words,  and  such  as  a  Roman  might 
in  a  case  of  necessity  have  understood,  but  not  in  the  least  what 
a  Cicero  or  a  Caesar  would  have  spoken  or  written  !  It  has 
become  more  and  more  doubtful  since  Carey's  time  whether  it 
is  either  desirable  or  advisable  to  commence  mission  work 
among  the  heathen  with  translations  of  the  Bible.  For  one 
thing,  even  in  the  case  of  an  ancient  and  cultured  people  like 
the  inhabitants  of  India,  the  number  of  those  who  can  read 
even  in  our  own  day  is  insignificant — what  is  the  good  of 
literature  for  the  masses  who  cannot  read  ?  So  that,  in  spite 
of  the  inspiring  and  undoubtedly  true  narratives  of  isolated 
cases  of  conversion  which  have  taken  place  simply  and  solely 
through  reading  the  Bible,  we  must  not  exalt  unduly  the  mere 
dissemination  of  the  Scriptures,  especially  at  the  initiation  of 
missionary  work.  It  may  indeed  spread  abroad  a  certain 
general  knowledge  of  Christianity,  but  in  the  majority  of  cases 
it  is  found  to  be  of  potential  value  only  in  connection  with  and 
as  a  means  of  following  up  the  preaching  of  the  missionary. 
P'rom  this  point  of  view  the  great  majority  of  the  Serampore 
translations  of  the  Bible  came  into  existence  before  their  time. 
Despite  this  criticism,  however, — which  it  is  easy  to  make  with 
the  accumulated  experience  of  a  century  of  fruitful  Bible 
translation  behind  us, — it  was  an  entirely  marvellous  and, 
as  far  as  missionary  history  goes,  a  simply  unique  accomplish- 
ment that  at  Carey's  death  the  entire  Bible  should  have  been 
issued  in  six  complete  translations,  the  entire  New  Testament 
in  twenty-three  more,  and  besides  these  separate  books  of  the 
Bible  in  ten  other  languages. 

Carey  and  his  helpers  had,  however,  another  great  ambition  : 
as  far  as  possible  to  begin  missionary  labour  amongst  every 
people  into  whose  speech  they  had  translated  the  Bible.     To 

^  (Translator's  Note. — Laokoon,  oder  ilher  die  G^-eitzcn  der  Malerci  und  dcr 
Poesie.  The  famous  treatise  on  esthetics  published  by  the  great  German  critic 
Lessing  in  1766.) 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  PROTESTANT  MISSIONS       141 

this  intent  they  sent  out  their  envoys  to  Benares,  Agra,  and 
Delhi  ;  to  Jessore,  Barisal,  Dacca,  and  Chittagong  in  Eastern 
Bengal ;  to  Dinajpur  and  Katvva  in  Northern  Bengal ;  to  the 
Khasia  tribes  in  Assam  ;  to  Orissa,  Nagpur,  and  even  Bombay  ; 
to  Burma,  to  the  Moluccas,  to  Java.  The  English  Baptists 
still  occupy  for  the  most  part  the  stations  planted  by  the  Men 
of  Serampore  with  such  exultant  energy  in  the  first  two 
decades  of  the  last  century — but  with  this  difference,  that 
to-day  they  by  no  means  retain  their  hold  upon  all  the  land 
which  was  then  possessed.  With  regard  to  this  phenomenal 
extension  of  the  work,  criticism  must  again  proceed  cautiously. 
The  Serampore  Brethren  did  indeed  found  all  these  stations, 
but  they  founded,  and  for  long  years  supported,  them  entirely 
out  of  their  own  means ;  they  were  willing  to  pay  for  them 
hundreds  of  thousands  of  pounds  which  they  had  first  won  by 
the  sweat  of  their  brow.  All  honour  to  such  burning  enthusiasm  ! 
And  they  never  shrank  from  relinquishing  districts  they  had 
already  taken  possession  of,  if  there  appeared  on  the  scene 
another  Missionary  Society  which  they  could  trust  to  carry 
on  the  work  with  greater  energy  and  more  thoroughness. 
Nevertheless  we  cannot  rid  ourselves  of  the  impression  that 
in  their  pious  zeal  they  entered  into  engagements  far  beyond 
their  strength.  It  was  therefore  a  good  thing  that  the  work 
in  Burma,  which  they  began  in  the  years  1808-18 18,  was 
subsequently  taken  over  by  the  American  Baptists,  the  work 
in  Orissa  by  the  General  Baptists,  that  in  the  Khasia  Hills  by 
the  Welsh  Calvinistic  Methodists,  and  that  that  in  the  Malayan 
Archipelago  spontaneously  came  to  a  standstill  when  the  Dutch 
regained  the  supremacy  there.  In  spite  of  all  this  curtailment, 
it  was  a  fine  inheritance  which  the  Three  left  when  they  laid 
down  their  toil :  eighteen  well-equipped  mission  stations  and 
a  fairly  extensive  system  of  elementary  schools,  especially  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  Serampore. 

With  these  far-reaching  missionary  operations  was  associated 
the  third  great  project  of  the  Men  of  Serampore.  For  their 
many  mission  stations  they  needed  a  numerous  missionary 
personnel.  Since  they  had  separated  from  the  B.M.S.  in 
1 816,  and  from  that  date  had  remained  entirely  independent — 
as  we  shall  shortly  narrate  more  particularly — they  conceived 
the  elaborate  plan  of  establishing  a  missionary  Seminary  of 
their  own  in  Serampore  (181 8-1 821),  where  they  intended  to 
train  their  own  missionaries,  principally  from  amongst  the  Indian 
Christians.  They  were  of  opinion  that  such  missionaries  would 
be  considerably  less  costly  than  Europeans,  and  that  they  had 
reason  to  be  so  satisfied  with  those  already  in  their  service  as 
to  proceed  to  a  rapid  augmentation  of  their  number.     As  it 


142  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

was  their  custom,  however,  to  do  everything  on  a  large  scale, 
they  determined  to  make  their  Seminary  an  institution  for 
higher  education,  almost  a  kind  of  Indian  University,  Within 
its  walls  Sanskrit  and  Arabic,  Bengali  and  English,  natural 
science  and  classical  literature  were  to  be  taught.  The 
Governor-General  endowed  a  chair  in  medicine.  The  King  of 
Denmark  granted  the  College  the  right  of  conferring  degrees 
on  the  same  lines  as  was  done  in  European  universities.  It 
was  thus  a  most  thoroughly  and  splendidly  equipped  College. 
We  are  again  struck  with  admiration  for  the  three  doughty 
missionaries  who  paid  out  of  their  own  pockets  almost  the 
entire  cost  (more  than  ;^i 5,000)  of  this  building — which  would 
have  done  credit  to  any  University — and  who  for  years  met 
heavy  liabilities  in  order  to  carry  out  this  their  pet  scheme. 
They  intended  that  at  their  death  the  professors  of  this  College 
would  assume  the  direction  of  their  entire  missionary  work. 
Yet  although  we  are  compelled  to  acknowledge  the  heroic  self- 
sacrifice  of  the  Three  Brethren,  we  cannot  hide  from  ourselves 
the  fact  that  the  project  contained  great  weaknesses.  A  College 
with  such  academic  ambitions  could  only  succeed  in  Calcutta, 
certainly  never  in  the  remote  little  township  of  Serampore.  It 
was  premature  so  long  as  the  intermediate  rungs  in  the  educa- 
tional ladder  remained  incomplete  and  the  true  foundation  of 
academic  studies  unlaid.  And  the  idea  of  converting  India  by 
means  of  independent  and  unattached  Indian  Christians  is 
still  unfortunately  for  several  reasons  an  unrealised  and  Utopian 
dream. 

The  stamp  of  real  greatness  distinguishes  all  the  projects 
and  the  enterprises  of  the  Serampore  Brethren ;  and  it  was  a 
tragic  circumstance  that  these  lives,  which  had  ever  been  "  in 
labours  more  abundant,"  should  be  embittered  during  a  decade 
and  a  half  by  a  quarrel  of  the  most  petty  character  with  the 
Society  which  Carey  had  himself  founded,  and  which  really 
existed  on  the  strength  of  his  success — the  Baptist  Missionary 
Society.  We  have  already  mentioned  that  Carey  came  out  to 
India  with  the  intention  of  relinquishing  all  support  from  home 
as  soon  as  possible.  He  and  his  two  friends  received  at  the 
very  most  from  the  Missionary  Committee  a  total  sum  of  ;^i5oo, 
and  before  the  outbreak  of  the  quarrel  in  18 16  they  had  paid 
back  this  amount  at  least  twentyfold — in  fact,  their  personal 
gifts  to  the  mission  at  that  time  came  to  close  upon  ^^1500 
annually.  But  the  mission  premises  at  Serampore  and  part  of 
the  premises  taken  over  by  the  Three  for  missionary  purposes 
in  other  places  stood  in  the  name  of  the  Baptist  Missionary 
Society.  After  the  deaths  of  Fuller,  Sutcliff,  and  Ryland, 
co-founders  with  Carey  of  the  Society  and  his  lifelong  friends, 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  PROTESTANT  MISSIONS       143 

and  after  a  new  generation,  under  the  Missionary  Secretary, 
Dr.  Dyer,  had  come  into  the  Mission  House  at  home,  the 
Society  attempted  to  assert  its  legal  rights  and  to  appoint 
missionaries  to  Serampore  as  it  thought  fit.  In  petty  fashion 
criticism  was  levelled  against  the  manner  of  life,  the  successes, 
and  the  character  of  the  three  great  men.  After  his  first  arrival 
in  India  Carey  never  again  set  foot  on  English  soil,  and  Marsh- 
man  did  not  pay  his  first  visit  home  until  1826,  after  an  absence 
of  twenty-seven  years.  They  were  thus  practically  powerless 
against  the  intrigues  of  the  younger  generation  in  England, 
with  whom  unfortunately  several  of  the  junior  Baptist 
missionaries  in  India  made  common  cause.  There  ensued  a 
hateful  literary  feud  extending  over  a  period  of  more  than 
fifteen  years.  The  Men  of  Serampore  could  only  declare  their 
withdrawal  from  the  mission  they  themselves  had  brought  into 
being.  What  a  pity  it  was  that  the  younger  men  understood 
so  little  their  uniqueness  and  their  greatness !  To-day  we  can 
only  read  the  annals  of  this  unworthy  strife  with  the  deepest 
regret,  and  we  cannot  but  rejoice  that  the  Serampore  Trio 
showed  their  real  greatness  to  the  very  end,  in  that,  through 
their  testamentary  arrangements,  they  closed  up — after  their 
deaths,  at  any  rate — the  rift  which  had  been  opened,  and,  in 
spite  of  everything,  made  their  own  Missionary  Society  sole 
heir  to  their  entire  work.  Ward  died  of  cholera  in  1823  ; 
William  Carey,  venerated  and  beloved  as  any  patriarch,  of  old 
age  on  June  9th,  1834  ;  Marshman  three  and  a  half  years  later. 
Their  colleagues,  all  of  whom  they  themselves  had  appointed, 
and  the  professors  of  the  College,  especially  Marshman's  highly 
gifted  son,  a  most  talented  writer,  undertook  the  direction  of 
the  work  until  1846.  Then  the  entire  mission  was  handed  over 
to  the  Baptist  Missionary  Society.  The  latter  continued  the 
Serampore  College  until  1883,  on  what  was  practically  the 
original  foundation,  complying  only  with  the  fresh  regulations 
of  the  Government  from  time  to  time ;  in  that  year,  however, 
they  allowed  it  to  come  to  an  end.  To-day  the  Baptist 
Seminary  for  teachers  and  preachers  for  the  whole  of  Bengal 
is  housed  in  the  stately  College  buildings.  Since  the  town  and 
district  of  Serampore  was  surrendered  by  the  Danes  in  1845  the 
old  mission  station  has  also  lost  much  of  its  importance.  It 
is  simply  an  outpost  of  Calcutta — and  a  much  visited  shrine  for 
friends  of  missions  who  may  be  travelling  in  India. 

(c)  Other  Pioneers.    1792-1813 

The  importance  of  India  as  the  most  valuable  of  England's 
colonial  possessions,  the  growing  acquaintance  with  its  primeval 


144  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

history  and  its  countless  millions  of  heathen,  and  the  inspiring 
example  of  Carey  and  his  co-workers,  all  tended  to  direct 
the  immediate  attention  of  friends  of  missions  in  English 
Christendom  upon  India.  But  the  obstacles  offered  by  the 
coldly  repellent  and  even  hostile  attitude  of  the  East  India 
Company  were  great.  They  were  vividly  illustrated  during  the 
last  few  years  of  the  eighteenth  century  by  the  Haldane  case. 
Fired  by  Carey's  reports,  a  rich  and  highly  esteemed  Scotch 
landowner,  a  former  officer  in  the  marines,  Robert  Haldane  by 
name,  sold  part  of  his  property  near  Airthrey  and  determined, 
with  the  help  of  three  clergymen,  who  afterwards  became  very 
famous,  to  start  a  mission  on  a  large  scale  at  Benares.  He 
intended  to  take  out  with  him  a  complete  equipment  for  a 
printing  establishment  and  a  complete  staff  of  teachers  and 
catechists.  But  in  spite  of  influential  connections  in  Govern- 
ment circles,  he  found  it  impossible  to  obtain  permission  even 
to  sail  for  India,  ostensibly  because  of  his  Radical  leanings  in 
politics.  After  that,  the  entire  scheme  was  of  course  abandoned. 
This  was  a  case  in  which  the  East  India  Company  succeeded 
in  hindering  a  missionary  expedition  from  setting  out  for  India. 
It  was  more  difficult  to  get  rid  of  such  expeditions  when  once 
they  had  landed  there.  In  the  year  1812  the  two  first  American 
missionaries,  Judson  and  Newell,  arrived  in  Calcutta.  They  at 
once  gave  notice  of  their  arrival  to  the  police,  and  declared 
openly  that  they  had  come  with  the  intention  of  establishing 
a  mission  in  Bengal.  A  few  weeks  later  six  other  missionaries, 
three  Englishmen  and  three  Americans,  arrived  in  quick  suc- 
cession. That  made  eight  new  missionaries  in  a  short  space 
of  time ;  and  at  such  an  abundance  the  anxious  English  were 
filled  with  terror.  The  five  Americans  were  summarily  expelled. 
Three  of  them,  Judson,  Newell,  and  Rice,  obtained  with  difficulty 
permission  to  betake  themselves  to  the  out-of-the-way  island  of 
Mauritius.  At  the  mouth  of  the  Hooghly,  however,  Judson 
found  a  ship  bound  for  Burma,  at  that  time  still  an  independ- 
ent country,  and  fled  thither.  Rice  returned  for  the  time  being 
to  North  America.  The  two  other  Americans  secretly  made 
their  escape  to  Bombay,  but  a  letter  of  arrest  was  immediately 
sent  after  them,  ordering  their  deportation  to  England.  The 
devout  Governor  of  Bombay,  Sir  Evan  Nepean,  desired  to 
protect  them  as  far  as  he  had  the  power  to  do  so,  but  the 
two  missionaries  trusted  even  his  influence  so  little  that  they 
decided  to  flee  to  Ceylon.  They  were  overtaken,  however,  on 
the  way  by  a  stern  order  from  Nepean  commanding  their 
instant  return  to  Bombay.  Of  the  three  Englishmen  who 
arrived  simultaneously  in  Calcutta,  two  had  sought  refuge  in 
Danish  Serampore,  and  one  in  Dutch  Chinsurah.     But  it  was  of 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  PROTESTANT  MISSIONS      145 

no  use ;  they  were  ordered  to  be  sent  back  to  England.  One 
of  them  was  successful  in  "  slipping  away  "  to  Java,  which  was 
then  governed  by  the  humane  Sir  Stamford  Raffles.  Another, 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Johns,  was  sent  back  to  England,  in  spite  of  all 
his  protests,  on  board  one  of  the  Company's  ships,  and  after  his 
repatriation  a  bill  of  over  i^SOO  for  travelling  expenses  was 
presented  to  his  Society !  The  Company  maintained  its  right 
to  expel  instantly  any  European  who  proceeded  to  India  with- 
out its  express  permission,  or  who  remained  there  without  one 
of  its  specially  dravvn-up  passes.  It  vindicated  this  right  in  the 
most  ruthless  fashion.  Missionaries,  as  such,  received  a  permit 
only  in  rare  cases,  and  were  thus  thrown  entirely  on  the  good- 
will of  the  local  authorities.  And  from  the  intrigues  of  these 
latter  they  were  not  safe  even  when  they  had  resided  at  a  place 
for  years.  In  the  year  181 1,  Rev.  J.  Chamberlain,  a  Baptist 
missionary,  received  a  pass  for  Agra.  Scarcely  had  he  com- 
menced his  labours  there  when,  by  order  of  the  commander  of 
the  city,  he  was  escorted  back  into  Bengal  by  a  convoy  of 
Hindu  sepoys.  Notwithstanding  this,  he  again  found  his  way 
into  Hindustan  as  private  tutor  to  the  children  of  an  English 
official ;  but  he  was  once  more  expelled,  this  time  by  special 
order  of  the  Governor-General !  It  was  in  face  of  opposition 
such  as  this  on  the  part  of  the  all-powerful  officials  that 
Protestant  missions  in  India  were  initiated. 

The  London  Missionary  Society,  which  had  been  founded  in 
1795,  sent  its  first  agent.  Rev.  Nathaniel  Forsyth,  to  Calcutta 
in  1798.  After  feeling  his  way  for  a  short  time,  he  gave  up  all 
hope  of  evangelising  that  inhospitable  city,  and  removed  to  the 
town  of  Chinsurah,  situated  some  twenty-eight  miles  north  of 
Calcutta,  and  then  belonging  to  Holland.  There,  together  with 
Rev.  R.  May,  who  was  sent  out  to  his  help  in  181 2,  he  dedi- 
cated himself  chiefly  to  the  creation  or  the  development  of 
elementary  schools — and  without  any  immediate  success.  The 
London  Society  was  eager  for  new  enterprises.  It  wanted  to 
stake  out  claims  as  quickly  as  possible  at  other  points  of  the 
British  possessions;  Madras,  Surat,  Vizagapatam,  Tranquebar, 
and  other  well-known  places  were  written  on  its  programme, 
and  as  early  as  the  first  decade  of  the  nineteenth  century  it 
delegated  missionaries  to  all  these  places.  Vizagapatam  was 
taken  possession  of  by  Revs.  Aug.  des  Granges  and  George 
Cran  in  1805.  Of  those  appointed  to  Surat  one  entered  the 
service  of  the  Government  at  Bombay ;  the  other,  finding  no 
opening  for  missionary  activity,  undertook  the  temporary 
direction  of  a  men's  asylum  at  Madras.  There  was  but  one 
door  actually  opened  to  the  Society,  and  that  from  a  quarter 
whence   they   least    expected    it.      In    1797    the    Society   for 


146  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

Promoting  Christian  Knowledge  had  sent  out  to  Calcutta 
Rev.  W.  T.  Ringeltaube ;  he  had  returned  to  England  a  short 
time  afterwards  in  despair,  but  had  then  entered  the  service  of 
the  London  Missionary  Society,  and 'now  went  out  a  second 
time,  to  Tranquebar.  There  he  was  attracted  by  a  remarkable 
travelling  Sannyasi  of  Travancore,  and  after  overcoming  many 
obstacles  at  length  took  up  his  residence  in  Myladi,  near  the 
southern  point  of  India,  and  found  there,  especially  among  the 
populous  Shanans,  an  astonishingly  fertile  field.  In  ten  years 
(1806-181 5)  he  brought  together  more  than  1000  Christians,  of 
whom  Qtj  were  in  18 12  admitted  to  Holy  Communion  after 
most  careful  examination.  In  an  age  of  difficult  beginnings 
this  success  was  all  the  more  noteworthy  since  it  was  the  first, 
and  so  far,  the  only  pledge  of  the  richer  and  more  plentiful 
harvests  that  were  to  be  gathered  in  later. 

In  Church  of  England  circles  the  attitude  towards  Indian 
missions  was  for  the  time  being  that  of  contented  waiting. 
It  is  true  that  the  Society  for  Promoting  Christian  Know- 
ledge supported  the  Danish  Mission ;  but  with  the  first 
missionaries  which  it  sent  out  on  its  own  account  the  Society 
had  nothing  but  misfortune.  When  Charles  Grant,  to  whom 
we  shall  shortly  refer  in  greater  detail,  promised  a  regular 
annual  subscription  of  ^^360  on  behalf  of  a  missionary  who 
should  also  preach  in  Kiernander's  "Old  Church"  ^ — which  Grant 
and  two  of  his  friends  had  bought  at  a  sale  by  auction — a 
certain  Rev.  A.  J.  Clarke  was  sent  out.  But  he  soon  proved 
to  be  anything  but  a  success,  and  left  the  service  of  the 
Society  within  the  year.  In  1797  they  sent  out  the  German 
Ringeltaube,  but  in  two  years'  time  he  lost  heart  and  returned 
to  England,  to  the  painful  surprise  of  the  Society. 

It  was  incomparably  more  important  that  a  small  but  active 
and  influential  circle  of  Anglicans  was  formed  in  Calcutta,  the 
members  of  which  stood  shoulder  to  shoulder  and  won  to  them- 
selves great  renown  for  laying  the  real  foundations  of  the 
missionary  activity  of  the  English  Church.  These  were  the 
distinguished  official  of  the  Company,  Charles  Grant,  —  who 
was,  from  1797,  one  of  the  Company's  Directors  in  London, — 
Sir  Robert  Chambers  and  his  brother  William,  and  George 
Udny.  The  devout  and  far-seeing  Grant  was  already  writing 
the  book  which  has  since  become  famous.  Observations  on  the 
State  of  Society  among  the  Asiatic  Subjects  of  Great  Britain, 
particularly  %vith  Respect  to  Morals  ;  and  the  Means  of  Improving 
it.  He  laid  this  truly  philanthropic  pamphlet  before  the 
Court  of  Directors  in  1800,  but  so  little  notice  was  taken  of 
it  that  it  soon  lay  forgotten  in  the  dusty  archives  of  the 
1  Cf.  p.  130. 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  PROTESTANT  MISSIONS      147 

Company.  But  when,  in  18 13,  the  battle  over  the  renewal  of 
the  Company's  Charter  broke  out,  Parliament  ordered  Grant's 
essay  to  be  published,  and  it  contributed  not  a  little  to  the 
spreading  abroad  and  the  strengthening  of  views  favourable  to 
the  cause  of  missions.  Associated  with  these  officials  there  was 
a  small  number  of  devout  and  learned  Government  chaplains, 
the  "  pious  chaplains,"  as  they  were  derisively  termed.  The 
first  of  these  was  Rev.  David  Brown,  a  friend  of  the  great 
Cambridge  preacher,  Charles  Simeon.  He  had  been  sent  out 
by  the  Company  as  chaplain  and  governor  of  their  military 
orphanage.  Later  he  became  the  clergyman  of  Kiernander's 
"  Old  Church  "  for  a  quarter  of  a  century,  and  he  soon  made  it  the 
spiritual  centre  of  Calcutta,  from  which  streams  of  blessing 
poured  forth  upon  Anglo-Indian  society.  He  was  made 
Chancellor  of  Fort  William  College,  which  had  been  estab- 
lished by  Hastings,  and  died  in  1812.  Claudius  Buchanan, 
another  of  these  chaplains,  had  lived  in  Calcutta  since  1797, 
and  Hastings  created  him  Vice-Provost  of  the  College.^  In 
1 806- 1 807,  at  the  request  of  the  Government  of  Madras,  he  under- 
took a  tour  for  purposes  of  discovery  and  inquiry  amongst  the 
Syrian  Christians  in  Travancore,  and  in  181 1  he  published  the 
results  of  his  investigations  in  a  book  entitled  CJiristian  Re- 
searches in  Asia,  that  quickly  ran  through  four  editions  in 
England,  and  was  also  translated  into  other  European  languages. 
He  died  on  February  9th,  181 5.  The  third  and  fourth  members 
of  this  group  were  Revs.  Thomas  Thomason  and  Daniel  Corrie, 
who  were  sent  as  chaplains  to  the  troops  far  up  country,  to 
Cawnpore,  Benares,  Agra  and  Meerut,  and  who  were  every- 
where adepts  at  finding  out  the  points  at  which  missionary  work 
ought  afterwards  to  be  commenced.  The  fifth  and  most  brilliant 
of  all  was  Henry  Martyn,  who  was  born  on  February  i8th,  1781 
and  died  on  October  i6th,  18 12.  The  child  of  godly  parents, 
he  came  whilst  a  student  at  Cambridge  under  the  influence  of 
the  powerful  University  preacher,  Charles  Simeon,  and  obtained 
the  appointment  to  one  of  the  chaplaincies  of  the  East  India 
Company  in  1804.  He  landed  in  Calcutta  on  April  22nd,  1806, 
and  immediately  entered  into  a  friendship  of  the  most  intimate 
nature  Hvith  the  brethren  who  have  already  been  mentioned, 
and  whose  ideas  and  dispositions  corresponded  with  his  own. 
In   addition   to  his  duties  as  chaplain  to  the  garrison,  which 

^  Even  at  so  great  a  distance  from  England,  Buchanan  did  a  great  deal  to  awaken 
the  interest  of  those  in  the  homeland  for  Indian  missions.  Again  and  again  he  in- 
stituted prize  schemes,  offering  as  much  as  ;i^50  in  order  to  encourage  the  cultured 
youth  of  England  to  write  English,  Latin,  or  Greek  odes  or  scientific  works  on  the 
subject  of  missions  and  of  India.  The  first  English  writer  of  importance  on 
missionary  topics,  Hugh  Pearson,  in  this  way  received  his  first  incentive  to  such 
work. 


148  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

afterwards  took  him  to  Dinajpur  and  Cawnpore,  he  plunged 
with  ardent  zeal  into  the  study  of  those  languages  which  were 
most  important  for  missionary  work,  Hindi  and  Hindustani, 
Persian  and  Arabic.  He  translated  the  entire  New  Testament 
and  the  Common  Prayer  Book  into  Hindustani.  Then,  in  i8i  i, 
he  proceeded  to  Persia,  and  after  a  ten  months'  residence  in 
Shiraz,  where  he  zealously  disputed  with  Muhammadan  scholars, 
he  journeyed  via  Tabriz  into  Asia  Minor.  His  health,  how- 
ever, which  had  ever  been  delicate  and  which  was  completely 
shattered  through  mental  overstrain,  proved  unable  to  support 
the  enormous  exertion  of  a  journey  through  the  wild  rocky 
highlands  of  Asia  Minor,  and  he  died  in  Tokat,  at  the  early 
age  of  thirty-one.  Notwithstanding  his  youth  and  the  short 
time  he  laboured  in  India,  scarcely  any  man  except  Carey 
exercised  such  a  deep  and  abiding  influence  on  the  history  of 
Indian  missions  during  those  first  decades  of  the  century  as  he. 
His  ardent  piety,  his  overpowering  eloquence,  his  fine-spirited 
mysticism,  and  his  brilliant  genius  left  an  ineffaceable  impression 
on  the  memory  of  all  his  friends.  This  group  of  congenial  and 
highly  gifted  men  was  full  of  great  plans  for  the  welfare  of  India. 
In  the  first  place,  they  still  hoped  to  win  over  the  Company  to 
their  views.  They  divided  Bengal  into  eight  districts ;  an 
Anglican  clergyman  was  to  be  officially  appointed  as  special 
State  missionary  in  each  district,  his  duties  being  the  preaching 
of  the  gospel,  the  establishment  and  oversight  of  schools,  and 
all  the  other  tasks  of  a  zealous  missionary.  The  necessary 
money  was  to  be  provided  by  the  State.  These  proposals, 
however,  met  with  only  a  poor  welcome.  The  Governor- 
General,  Lord  Cornwallis,  declared  he  could  see  no  hope  of 
any  good  coming  to  the  people  of  India  by  the  adoption  of 
such  proposals  ;  the  Directors  of  the  Company  expressed  them- 
selves in  the  most  vehement  tones  against  them ;  and  the 
consent  of  Parliament  was  withheld.  But  the  chaplains  were 
neither  discouraged  nor  repressed  by  this.  They  opened  up 
relations  with  Charles  Simeon  at  Cambridge  and  with  the 
recently  established  Church  Missionary  Society  (1799),  in  order 
to  try  and  prepare  the  way  for  extensive  missionary  activity 
in  India  through  the  instrumentality  of  the  new  Society.  In 
the  year  1807  they  formed  themselves  into  a  "Corresponding 
Committee "  for  the  Society,  "  in  order  to  render  assistance  to 
the  proposed  station  in  the  North- West  Provinces."  They 
appointed  Thomason  as  their  secretary. 

If  the  agents  of  English  Societies  found  the  soil  so  hard,  it 
is  no  wonder  that  the  first  missionaries  of  the  "  American  Board 
of  Commissioners  for  Foreign  Missions"  (founded  in  18 10  and 
named  for  short  the  "  American   Board  ")  met  with  well-nigh 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  PROTESTANT  MISSIONS      149 

insurmountable  obstacles.  In  18 12  the  Board  sent  five 
missionaries  to  India  in  quick  succession  on  board  two  ships 
—  Gordon  Hall,  Rice,  Nott,  Judson,  and  Newell.  We 
have  already  heard  about  the  wanderings  and  distresses 
of  these  pioneers.  If  at  so  short  an  interval  after  the  War 
of  Independence  the  sentiments  of  the  English  had  not  been 
specially  favourable  to  Americans,  they  naturally  became 
very  much  less  so  when  a  fresh  war  broke  out  in  181 2. 
Nevertheless  Gordon  Hall  and  Nott  were  finally  allowed  to 
remain  in  Bombay  in  181 3,  owing  to  the  intervention  of  the 
friendly  Governor,  Sir  Evan  Nepean.  Adoniram  Judson  and 
Rice  became  Baptists  whilst  at  Calcutta,  and  the  former  fled 
from  the  officers  of  the  Company  to  Rangoon  ;  he  arrived  there 
on  July  13th,  1 813,  and  founded  a  new  mission,  to  the  support 
of  which  Rice  summoned  the  Baptists  of  North  America, 
thereby  inaugurating  the  "  American  Baptist  Missionary 
Union"  in  18 14. 

Taken  all  in  all,  it  was  a  day  of  small  things.  About  181 2, 
there  existed  mission  stations  at  Serampore  (still  in  the  hands 
of  the  Danes)  whence  Calcutta  was  worked  ;  out-stations  of  the 
Baptists  at  Dinajpur,  in  the  indigo  district,  where  Carey  had 
laboured  before  settling  in  Serampore  ;  and  at  Jessore,  in  the 
well-watered  delta-district  of  Eastern  Bengal.  The  London 
Missionary  Society  was  busy  in  Dutch  Chinsurah  and  at 
Vizagapatam.  In  Madras  and  the  Tamil  country  no  new  work 
had  as  yet  sprung  up  alongside  that  of  the  veteran  fathers  of  the 
Danish  Mission.  In  the  Kanarese  country  there  was  only  the 
solitary  station  of  Bellary,  and  that  had  been  founded  in  181 2. 
In  Bombay  the  first  missionaries  of  a  non-English  Society,  the 
American  Board,  had  after  great  anxiety  just  managed  to  obtain 
a  foothold.  The  only  seed  which  appeared  to  be  sprouting  hope- 
fully was  the  work  of  Ringeltaube  in  Southern  Travancore. 

(d)  The  Fight  for  the  Charter  ^/  1813 

The  Charter  of  the  Company  had  to  be  renewed  every 
twenty  years.  On  the  occasion  of  the  proceedings  in  1793, 
William  Wilberforce  and  his  friends  had  made  the  attempt  to 
include  in  the  Charter  the  following  clause  in  favour  of 
missions  :  "  It  is  the  opinion  of  this  House  that  it  is  the  peculiar 
and  bounden  duty  of  the  British  Legislature  to  promote  by  all 
just  and  prudent  means  the  interest  and  happiness  of  the 
inhabitants  of  the  British  dominions  in  India,  and  that  for  these 
ends  such  measures  ought  to  be  adopted  as  may  gradually  tend 
to  their  advancement  in  useful  knowledge  and  to  their  religious 
and  moral  improvement."     He  moved,  therefore,  the  following : 


I50  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

"  Resolved,  that  the  Court  of  Directors  of  the  Company  shall 
be  empowered  and  commissioned  to  nominate  and  send  out 
from  time  to  time  a  sufficient  number  of  skilled  and  suitable 
persons,  who  shall  attain  the  aforesaid  object  by  serving  as 
schoolmasters,  missionaries,  or  otherwise."  Prudent  and  colour- 
less as  the  wording  of  this  resolution,  the  hotly  attacked  "  pious 
clauses,"  now  appears  to  have  been,  the  attempt  to  smuggle 
them  into  the  Charter  failed  before  the  violent  agitation  of 
the  opposite  and  influential  party,  led  by  men  like  Dundas. 
Missions  were  excluded  from  British  India  for  two  more 
decades.  In  the  year  1813  the  Charter  had  again  to  be 
renewed,  and  the  friends  of  missions  determined  to  do  all  that 
lay  in  their  power  on  this  occasion  to  win  liberty  of  movement 
for  the  messengers  of  the  gospel  in  India. 

In  the  meantime  the  Christian  conscience  of  England  had 
awakened.  The  nineteen  years'  fight  for  the  abolition  of  slavery 
in  the  English  colonies,  and  which  had  been  brought  to  a 
successful  issue  in  1807,  had  powerfully  contributed  to  the 
revival  of  essentially  Christian  views  of  life.  Wilberforce 
placed  himself  at  the  head  of  the  new  campaign  for  the  freedom 
of  missions  in  India.  It  was  a  skilful  move  just  at  this  time 
to  publish  and  circulate  widely  the  already-mentioned  work  of 
the  widely  respected  Charles  Grant,  Concerning  the  State  of 
Society  among  the  Asiatic  Subjects  of  Great  Britain.  A 
former  Governor-General  of  India,  Lord  Teignmouth,  likewise 
lent  his  pen  to  the  missionary  cause.  The  recently  founded 
Missionary  Societies  and  their  representatives,  especially  Fuller 
among  the  Baptists  and  C.  Buchanan  and  Pratt  amongst  the 
Anglicans,  assisted  Wilberforce  by  all  means  in  their  power. 
No  less  than  850  petitions  were  laid  on  the  table  of  the  House 
of  Commons  on  behalf  of  the  missionaries. 

Nor  were  their  opponents  idle,  especially  former  Indian 
officials,  the  influential  "  Anglo-Indians."  ^  The  Sepoy  rebellion 
in  the  Vellore  district  of  South  India  in  August  1806,  which 
without  the  slightest  justification  was  attributed  to  the 
missionaries,  gave  them  an  opportunity  of  violently  declaiming 
against  the  mission  of  the  "  consecrated  cobblers,"  which  was  "  so 
dangerous  to  the  State."  The  small  and  unimportant  mutiny 
at  Vellore  had  absolutely  nothing  whatever  to  do  with  the 
missionaries.  Neither  in  Vellore  nor  in  the  neighbourhood 
did  there  exist  one  single  mission  station.  Some  alterations 
had  been  ordered  in  the  soldiers'  uniforms,  especially  in  the 
arrangement  of  the  turban.  And  the  rebels  had  the  firmly 
rooted  idea  that  the  Company  desired  to  make  them  break 
caste  and  by  guile  or  by  force  to  make  Christians  of  them. 
^  The  Twinings,  Prendergasts,  Scott  Warings,  and  men  of  that  ilk. 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  PROTESTANT  MISSIONS      151 

This  insignificant  circumstance  sufficed  to  extinguish  the  last 
spark  of  sympathy  with  missions  on  the  part  of  those  in 
authority.  Every  kind  of  jest  and  satire  was  employed  to 
make  missions  and  their  supporters  an  object  of  ridicule  or  to 
make  them  appear  the  enemies  of  the  people.  It  was  indeed  a 
hot  "  mission  fray,"  as  some  one  has  called  it.  The  opponents 
of  the  clauses  made  use  of  language  which  was  provocative  to 
a  degree.  Mr.  Bensley,  one  of  the  Directors  of  the  Company, 
summed  up  his  position  in  the  following  words :  "  So  far  from 
approving  the  proposed  clause  or  listening  to  it  with  patience, 
from  the  first  moment  I  heard  of  it  I  considered  it  the  most 
wild,  extravagant,  expensive,  and  unjustifiable  project  that  ever 
was  suggested  by  the  most  visionary  speculator."^  On  June 
23rd,  1 81 3,  however,  the  victory  was  won,  and  on  July  21st  the 
law  received  the  royal  assent. 

Two  resolutions  contained  the  greater  part  of  the  ad- 
missions desired  by  the  missionary  party.  The  12th  Resolution 
ordered  the  creation  of  a  bishop  and  three  archdeacons,  and 
thus  instituted  the  regime  of  the  Church  of  England  in  India, 
in  order  that  English  residents  there  might  have  thorough 
pastoral  care.  When'Ve  think,  for  instance,  how  faulty  is  the 
spiritual  oversight  of  the  officials  and  settlers  in  our  German 
colonies  even  to  this  day,  and  that  the  means  for  enabling  such 
oversight  to  be  rendered  have  to  be  raised  by  private  subscrip- 
tion, we  must  recognise  what  an  important  advance  was  made 
by  this  resolution. 

The  13th  Resolution,  the  one  in  which  the  whole  mission- 
ary question  was  really  involved,  ran  as  follows :  "  Resolved, 
that  it  is  the  opinion  of  this  Committee  that  it  is  the  duty 
of  this  country  to  promote  the  interests  and  happiness  of 
the  native  inhabitants  of  the  British  dominions  in  India,  and 
that  measures  ought  to  be  adopted  as  may  tend  to  the  intro- 
duction among  them  of  useful  knowledge  and  moral  improve- 
ment. That  in  furtherance  of  the  above  objects  sufficient 
facilities  shall  be  afforded  by  law  to  persons  desirous  of  going 
to,  or  remaining  in,  India  for  the  purpose  of  accomplishing 
those  benevolent  designs."  That  meant  that  the  missionaries 
were  to  be  allowed  to  enter  India  and  to  reside  there ;  they 
might  preach,  found  churches,  and  discharge  all  spiritual  duties  ; 
in  a  word,  they  might  fulfil  their  missionary  calling  in  its 
completest  and  widest  sense.  But  this  liberal  opening  up  of 
the  country  at  first  affected  none  but  British  subjects,  and 
during  the  next  two  decades  (18 13-1833)  only  the  English  and 
Scotch  missionary  societies  really  obtained,  to  any  considerable 
extent,  a  firm  footing  in  India. 

^  See  Appendix  M. 


152  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

In  passing  we  may  mention  that  a  second  subject  of  keenest 
debate  in  the  Charter  conflicts  of  1813  was  the  trade  monopoly 
of  the  Company  in  India.  It  had  gradually  come  to  be  an 
intolerable  state  of  things  that  a  limited  and  privileged  society 
should  have  exclusive  rights  of  commerce  with  the  richest  land 
in  the  world,  and  that  all  other  Englishmen  should  not  only  be 
prevented  from  trading  there,  but  be  likewise  prevented  from 
setting  foot  on  Indian  soil.  This  was  precisely  the  reason  why 
in  such  little  Danish  settlements  as  Serampore,  and  in  such 
Dutch  settlements  as  Chinsurah  and  other  places,  a  strong 
rivalry,  backed  up  by  English  money,  was  created,  by  means  of 
which  these  colonies  sprang  into  fame.  By  the  Charter  of  181 3 
this  trade  monopoly  was  taken  away  from  the  East  India 
Company. 

The  opponents  of  missions  succeeded  in  inserting  in  the  new 
Charter  a  clause  providing  that  a  sum  of  not  less  than  one  lakh 
of  rupees  (at  that  time  about  ;^  10,000)  was  to  be  set  aside 
annually  for  the  purpose  of  improving  and  grafting  new  life  into 
native  Indian  literature,  of  supporting  native  scholars  and  men 
of  letters,  and  of  introducing  and  maintaining  Western  know- 
ledge amongst  the  inhabitants  of  the  British  possessions.  By 
fostering  both  Oriental  and  Occidental  science  they  hoped  to 
create  a  reliable  counterpoise,  a  protecting  breakwater  against 
the  threatened  deluge  of  missionary  enterprise.  They  never 
dreamed  that  through  this  grant  for  purposes  of  higher  education 
they  were  laying  the  foundation  of  the  whole  system  of  mission 
schools  and  the  "  grant-in-aid  "  system  in  India. 

It  ought  not  to  be  forgotten  that  the  concessions  to  missions 
and  to  the  Church  were  only  wrung  from  the  Company  after 
the  most  violent  opposition  and  the  most  furious  conflict.  The 
Company  remained  firmly  determined,  however,  in  spite  of  this 
defeat,  to  maintain  its  old  policy  of  "  neutrality " — which  in 
reality  was  nothing  but  an  almost  boundless  favouring  of 
Hinduism  and  Islam.  But  it  could  no  longer  hinder  mission- 
aries from  streaming  into  India  in  ever  increasing  numbers.  It 
now  concentrated  its  efforts  upon  the  placing  of  as  many 
hindrances  as  possible  in  the  way  of  the  unwelcome  guests. 
For  a  considerable  time  to  come  native  Christians  were  unable 
to  reckon  on  any  assistance  from  the  Company ;  they  were 
rather  slighted,  driven  forth,  and  treated  with  aversion  and 
contumely.  Missions  made  their  entry  into  India  in  spite  of 
the  Company. 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  PROTESTANT  MISSIONS      153 

(e)  181 3-1 833.     The  Advent  of  the  great  English 
Missionary  Societies 

For  convenience'  sake,  the  history  of  Indian  missions  should 
date  from  1 8 1 3.  From  that  year  only  were  Protestant  missionary 
operations  on  a  large  scale  possible,  and,  as  a  matter  of  fact, 
undertaken  by  various  societies.  The  opening  up  of  India 
through  the  Charter  of  181 3  only  concerned  at  first,  as  we  have 
already  said,  British  subjects.  To  persons  of  any  other  nation- 
ality no  permission  was  as  yet  given  either  with  regard  to 
trading,  or  freedom  of  circulation,  or  the  carrying  on  of  missionary 
work.  Very  many  English  people,  however,  heard  in  this  un- 
commonly great  and  favourable  opportunity  for  missionary 
labour  a  call  to  redoubled  activity  and  fresh  enterprise. 
Strangely  enough,  the  Baptist  Missionary  Society,  which  had  so 
heroically  rendered  the  earliest  pioneer  services,  was  just  that 
Society  which  did  not  take  advantage  of  this  mighty  impulse  to 
the  full.  It  is  true  that  the  Serampore  Trio  gave  great  and 
magnificent  proof  of  their  wonder-working  capabilities ;  in  a 
series  of  rapid  moves  they  extended  their  mission  to  the  east, 
north,  and  west ;  they  formed  congregations  and  schools  in 
Calcutta ;  they  sent  out  itinerant  preachers  northwards  and 
eastwards  throughout  the  thickly  populated  low  country  of 
Bengal,  and  Gandulpura  (two  miles  north  of  Serampore)  was 
chosen  as  the  centre  from  which  these  preachers  radiated. 
Barisal  in  Eastern  Bengal  was  occupied  in  1829,  Suri  in  the 
Birbhum  district  in  181 8,  Delhi  in  the  far  north-west  in  1818, 
Benares  the  chief  citadel  of  Hinduism  in  18 16,  Agra  in  the 
United  Provinces  in  181 1,  Monghyr  and  Patna  in  Bihar  in 
1 8 16,  Chittagong  (or  Islamabad)  on  the  Burmese  frontier  in 
1812.  By  1823  Carey  was  able  to  write  home  that  he  and  his 
friends  occupied  10  stations,  with  25  English  and  Indian 
missionaries.  This  marvellous  activity,  however,  was  a  private 
enterprise  of  the  Men  of  Serampore,  who  paid  all  costs, 
save  in  so  far  as  friends  contributed,  out  of  their  own 
pockets. 

The  Baptist  Missionary  Society,  from  which,  as  we  have 
already  narrated,  the  Serampore  Trio  had  unfortunately  been 
compelled  to  withdraw,  had  in  the  meantime  begun  work  in 
Calcutta  on  its  own  account.  Because  of  its  rivalry  with  these 
great  men,  however,  this  undertaking  could  never  hope  to 
win  genuine  success;  in  1823  it  only  numbered  5  stations,  with 
12  European  and  Indian  workers. 

Besides  the  great  Baptist  Missionary  Society,  the  General 
Baptist  Missionary  Society,  which  had  been  founded  in  1816, 
took  the  field  in  1822,  and  selected  as  its  special  district  Orissa, 


154  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

wisely  limiting  itself  to,  and  concentrating  its  energies   upon, 
this  single  province. 

The  London  Missionary  Society  was  busy  at  the  beginning 
of  this  period  with  elementary  schools  at  Chinsurah  (which  had 
in  the  meantime  become  a  British  possession).  As  early  as  the 
year  1815  it  could  point  to  20  schools  with  165 1  scholars,  of 
whom  258  were  Brahmans,  and  in  1817  to  as  many  as  36  schools 
with  3000  scholars.  And  the  English  Commissioner  at  Chinsurah, 
Gordon  Forbes,  was  so  delighted  with  this  educational  work 
that  he  procured  a  monthly  subsidy  of  600  rupees^nd,  later, 
the  large  sum  of  800  rupees  for  the  missionaries — a  precursor  of 
the  "grant-in-aid"  system.  The  missionary  gain  from  these 
schools  was,  however,  only  small.  As  Chinsurah  was  after  all 
nothing  but  an  out-of-the-way  country  township,  the  London 
Society  transferred  the  headquarters  of  its  work  to  Calcutta 
in  1816. 

As  far  as  the  English  Government  had  any  interest  whatever 
in  the  matter,  it  occupied  itself  solely  with  the  spiritual  needs  of 
the  Anglicans  ;  the  ecclesiastical  oversight  of  English  Dissenters 
in  India  still  left  very  much  to  be  desired.  Whenever,  therefore, 
there  was  to  be  found  a  congregation  of  Dissenters  at  a  station, 
the  London  Missionary  Society's  agents  felt  themselves  in  duty 
bound  to  minister  to  it  the  Word  and  the  sacraments  according 
to  the  forms  it  was  accustomed  to  use.  Even  though  a  far  from 
inconsiderable  part  of  the  time  and  strength  of  some  of  their 
most  capable  men  were  thus  often  lost  to  labour  purely 
missionary,  yet  they  deemed  it  their  duty  to  serve  their  fellow- 
countrymen  in  this  way.  Thus  in  Dharamtola  Street,  in  the 
very  centre  of  Calcutta,  a  stately  building  was  erected  for  divine 
worship,  called  the  Union  Chapel,  towards  which  friends  in 
India  alone  contributed  £4000 — a  beautiful  testimony,  after  the 
former  desolation,  to  the  ever  increasing  willingness  to  render 
help  to  spiritual  undertakings.  As  a  centre  for  its  Calcutta 
work  the  London  Missionary  Society  chose  Bhowanipur,  one  of 
the  southern  suburbs  of  the  city.  Thence,  in  1826,  they 
extended  their  work  towards  the  south  in  the  Sundarbans 
district  (the  overgrown  delta  district  of  the  countless  Ganges 
estuaries);  they  had  already  (1824)  established  a  station  north 
of  Calcutta  at  Berhampore.  On  their  other  mission  field,  in  the 
far  south  of  India — a  field  which  had  come  into  the  hands  of 
the  Society  through  the  labours  of  Ringeltaube — tremendous 
progress  continued  to  be  made  even  after  the  unexplained 
disappearance  of  that  remarkable  man.  In  place  of  the  more 
remote  Myladi,  Nagercoil  and  Neyoor  were  chosen  as  bases  of 
the  work  ;  prior  to  1840  a  membership  of  15,000  was  registered  ; 
in  the  schools  there  were  7540  scholars,  nearly  looo  of  whom 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  PROTESTANT  MISSIONS      155 

were  girls — a  most  extraordinary  thing  for  the  India  of  that 
/day.  Two  printing  establishments,  a  theological  college,  board- 
ing schools,  and  other  institutions,  served  in  the  uplifting  of 
these  communities.  Curiously  enough,  however,  the  London 
Missionary  Society  concentrated  its  strength  neither  on  its 
Bengal  work  nor  yet  on  that  in  Travancore.  In  the  majestic 
greatness  and  extent  of  the  British  possessions  in  India  there 
lay  a  challenge,  which  however  might  easily  have  become  a 
temptation,  to  seize  instantly  on  as  many  points  of  vantage  as 
possible.  In  every  direction  there  were  places  of  "  strategic 
importance,"  and  the  example  of  Paul  the  Apostle,  who  rapidly 
seized  one  after  another  the  trade  centres  of  the  Eastern  Roman 
Empire,  leaving  to  later  evangelists  the  task  of  penetrating  into 
the  interior  of  the  different  countries,  appeared  to  justify  a 
similar  method  of  procedure  on  a  large  scale.  The  London 
Missionary  Society  established,  therefore,  the  following  stations  : 
in  the  Tamil  country,  Madras  (18 13),  Kumbakonam  and  Chittoor 
(1825),  Salem  (1827),  and  Coimbatore  (1830);  in  the  Telugu 
country  (besides  Vizagapatam  which  had  been  held  since  1805), 
Cuddapah  (1822);  in  the  Kanarese  country,  Bellary  (1812), 
Bangalore  and  Belgaum  (1820) ;  in  Gujarat,  Surat  (18 19) ;  and 
in  the  North- Western  Provinces,  Benares  (1820).  This  almost 
simultaneous  occupation  of  important  positions,  situated  at  such 
a  distance  from  one  another  and  each  having  its  own  special 
circumstances  and  environment,  brought  the  London  Missionary 
Society  into  contact  with  seven  of  the  principal  tongues  and 
nationalities  of  India.  Save  for  Travancore  in  the  south,  only 
one  of  these  stations,  Cuddapah,  has  since  become  an  important 
centre;  the  rest  have  all  declined  in  one  direction  or  another. 
Some,  Hke  Kumbakonam  (1852),  and  Surat  (1847),  have  been 
handed  over  to  other  societies  ;  concerning  others,  negotiations 
with  a  view  to  surrender  have  at  any  rate  been  mooted,  but 
nothing  further  has  come  of  them. 

Alongside  these  two  great  societies  there  now  appeared  as 
a  third  new  and  important  factor  the  Church  of  England, 
together  with  the  societies  which  owed  to  her  their  birth  and 
which  derived  from  her  their  support.  One  of  the  most  note- 
worthy things  gained  by  the  Charter  of  18 13  was  that  the 
episcopal  system  of  the  Church  of  England  was  transferred  to 
India.  A  bishop  and  three  archdeacons  were  for  the  time 
being  deemed  adequate  ecclesiastical  equipment  for  the  vast 
colonial  empire  of  India,  including  Ceylon,  Australia,  and  South 
Africa !  These  were  intended,  however,  primarily  to  be  of 
advantage  not  to  Hindus  and  Muhammadans,  but  to  the 
English  officials,  soldiers,  and  traders.  How  the  arrange- 
ment   gradually    came     to    be    of    definite    importance    for 


156  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

foreign  missionary  work,  and  through  what  struggles  and 
difficulties  it  has  passed  on  that  account,  will  best  be  related  in 
another  chapter.  Here  we  will  only  relate  one  of  them.  The 
first  bishop  appointed,  Bishop  Middleton  (iS  14-1822),  who  was 
otherwise  no  great  friend  of  missions,  conceived  the  excellent 
design  of  founding  a  Missionary  College  in  Calcutta,  which 
should  serve  various  purposes  at  one  and  the  same  time.  It 
was  to  train  young  Indian  Christians  as  preachers,  catechists, 
and  school  teachers;  it  was  to  impart  a  knowledge  of  the 
English  language  to  Muhammadans  and  Hindus  ;  it  was  to  be 
a  kind  of  headquarters  for  the  translation  into  Indian  tongues 
of  the  Bible,  the  Common  Prayer  Book,  and  other  more  or  less 
important  works ;  and  it  was  to  serve  as  a  home  and  quiet  place 
of  residence  for  young  missionaries  on  their  first  arrival  in  India. 
;^6o,ooo  was  collected  in  England  for  the  scheme.  The  Church 
Missionary  Society  gave  ;£'5000  out  of  its  then  very  meagre 
income,  and  a  like  sum  was  contributed  by  the  Society  for 
Promoting  Christian  Knowledge,  the  Society  for  the  Propa- 
gation of  the  Gospel,  and  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society. 
The  superintendence  of  this  many-sided  institution  was  in  1820 
entrusted  to  the  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel,  a 
Society  of  High  Church  principles  which  had  been  in  existence 
for  over  a  centur>',  and  which  was  now  introduced  for  the  first 
time  to  direct  missionary  work  in  India.  It  was  to  this  College 
that  in  1821  it  dispatched  its  first  agents,  two  University 
trained  teachers. 

We  have  already  described  the  singular  ill-fortune  which 
had  attended  the  few  representatives  of  the  Society  for  Pro- 
moting Christian  Knowledge  in  the  mission  field  ;  in  the  year 
1825  it  withdrew  altogether  from  distinctly  missionar}'  work  in 
India,  and  transferred  all  the  stations  and  districts  for  which  it 
was  financially  responsible  to  the  Society  for  the  Propagation 
of  the  Gospel,  which  thus  with  one  bound  sprung  into  the  very 
front  rank  of  the  societies  labouring  in  India.  It  was  a  long 
time,  however,  before  it  was  able  fully  to  occupy  this  unsought- 
for  inheritance;  only  from  1835  onwards  could  it  cope  with 
the  demand  for  missionaries  to  any  sufficient  extent.  Its  first 
independent  work,  like  that  of  almost  every  society  then  labour- 
ing in  Calcutta,  was  begun  in  the  so-called  Twenty-four 
Parganas  and  Sundarbans,  thickly  populated  districts  lying 
to  the  south  of  Calcutta ;  here  it  quickly  founded  a  series  of 
stations  and  outposts.  These  were  all  supplied,  though  for  the 
time  being  only,  with  European  missionaries. 

With  greater  zeal,  with  larger  means,  and,  for  the  most  part, 
with  more  distinguished  men,  the  Church  Missionary  Society 
(founded  in  1799)  stepped  into  the  field  immediately  after  the 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  PROTESTANT  MISSIONS      157 

revision  of  the  Charter.  Although  at  first  sight  it  appears  to 
have  fallen  into  the  same  mistake  as  the  London  ^Missionar^' 
Society,  and  to  have  taken  over  too  many  places  at  once, 
thereby  dissipating  its  energies,  there  was  this  important 
difference  between  the  two — that  the  Church  Missionar}-  Society 
entered  a  well-prepared  field,  and  set  itself  to  accomplish  clearly 
defined  tasks.  Everywhere  it  associated  itself  with  the  work 
of  the  Protestant  chaplains,  and  with  their  help  formed  "  Corre- 
sponding Committees"  in  the  three  Indian  capitals,  Calcutta, 
Aladras,  and  Bombay,  in  whose  hands  it  placed  the  direction  of 
its  affairs — a  most  laudable  plan  when  the  shortest  period  of 
time  in  which  a  letter  could  be  answered  was  ten  months,  and 
when  there  was  a  sufficient  number  of  intelligent  and  devoted 
clerg}-  and  laymen  in  all  three  cities  willing  to  dedicate  them- 
selves to  the  very  responsible  duty  of  directing  the  affairs  of 
the  Society.  Only  a  quarter  of  a  century  later  was  the 
headquarters  of  the  Society'  transferred  to  the  homeland,  and 
the  Committees  in  India  dissolved,  though  not  without  serious 
friction.  Founded  in  the  }-ear  1812,  the  "Corresponding 
Committee"  at  Calcutta  quickly  commenced  operations  in  that 
city  and  the  region  round  about ;  in  Kidderpur  its  first  school  was 
erected  on  a  plot  of  ground  presented  by  a  friendly  Brahman 
(18 1 5),  and  in  Dum  Dum  a  second  one  was  built  shortly  after- 
wards. When  the  two  first  actual  representatives  of  the  Societj', 
an  Englishman  named  Greenwood  and  a  German  named 
Schroter,  were  sent  out  in  1S16,  the  first  mission  station  proper 
was  opened  at  Garden  Reach,  one  mile  south  of  Calcutta. 
Then  in  1S21  the  centre  of  the  work  was  established  in  the 
very  heart  of  the  city,  in  the  Mirzapur  quarter,  and  there  ample 
premises  and  several  schools  were  rapidly  constructed.  In 
1 8 16  a  devout  soldier.  Lieutenant  Stewart,  established  a  station 
at  Burdwan,  to  the  north-west  of  Calcutta,  which  during  the 
years  1831-1S52  became  widely  known  through  its  missionary', 
Rev.  J.  J.  \\'eitbrecht.  Work  in  the  United  Provinces  was 
commenced  rather  earlier :  the  first  representative  of  the 
Society  there  was  Abdul  Masih,  Henry  INIartyn's  only  convert, 
who  was  appointed  to  Agra  in  181 3  to  labour  under  the  direction 
of  Chaplain  Corrie ;  he  was  ordained  by  Bishop  Heber^  in  1826, 
and  was  the  first  Indian  clerg}-man  to  receive  Anglican  orders. 
After  Agra,  the  great  militar}'  depot  ]\Ieerut  (1815),  Benares 
(1817),  Chunar  near  Benares  (1S15),  Gorakhpur  (1823), 
Azamgarh  and  Jaunpur  (1831)  were  occupied  in  quick  succession, 
so  that  that  district  soon  became  a  great  centre  of  Anglican 

^  After  he  had  pre\"iously  been  ordained  by  the  Lutherans — a  regrettable  want  of 
consideration  towards  the  sister  Church  of  Germany  on  the  part  of  such  a  lover 
of  peace  as  Heber. 


158  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

missionary  work.  A  large  legacy  came  very  opportunely  from 
the  famous  Rajah  Jay  Narain  Ghosal  of  Benares  in  1818,  by 
means  of  which  an  extensive  and  splendidly  endowed  school  was 
acquired  by  the  Church  Missionary  Society.  The  Jay  Narain 
College,  although  only  a  high  school,  has  ever  since  been  one  of 
the  most  influential  schools  of  Benares. 

A  "  Corresponding  Committee "  had  likewise  been  formed 
at  Bombay  in  1818,  in  consequence  of  which  the  Church 
Missionary  Society  began  work  there  in  1820.  As  Western 
India  proved  to  be  a  specially  hard  field,  it  was  not  until  1832 
that  a  second  post,  Nasik,  was  founded.  It  was  South  India 
which  at  this  time  principally  engaged  the  attention  of  the 
supporters  of  the  Society.  Through  Chaplain  Hough,  a 
missionary  enthusiast,  the  indefatigable  Rhenius  was  attracted 
to  Tinnevelly  in  1820,  and  there  he  developed  during  a  decade 
and  a  half  such  an  extensive  work  amongst  the  Shanan  caste, 
whose  hearts  were  ever  disposed  to  receive  the  gospel,  that  by 
1835  there  were  no  less  than  11,186  baptized  believers  scattered 
amongst  261  villages,  and  in  107  schools  2882  scholars  were 
being  instructed.  If  to  these  we  add  some  4000  Christians, 
who  in  this  same  district  adhered  to  the  Society  for  the  Propa- 
gation of  the  Gospel,  and  the  11,000  whom  Ringeltaube  of  the 
London  Missionary  Society  had  gathered  together  in  the 
immediately  adjoining  and  similar  districts  of  South  Travan- 
core,  we  have  as  early  as  1835  in  the  extreme  south  of 
India  some  26,000  without  reckoning  the  15,000  left  by  the 
Danish  Mission  in  the  Cauvery  district.  These  two  great  groups 
of  Christians  were  at  that  time  the  crown  and  the  rejoicing  of 
Protestant  missions. 

Through  Claudius  Buchanan's  work.  Christian  Researches, 
of  which  mention  has  already  been  made,  the  interest  of 
English  Christians  had  been  warmly  kindled  on  behalf  of 
the  ancient  Syrian  Church.  The  Church  Missionary  Society 
profited  by  this  wave  of  enthusiasm,  and  for  twenty  years 
(1816-1836)  it  attempted,  with  most  competent  missionaries 
and  in  a  most  praiseworthy  and  broad-minded  fashion,  to  instil 
new  life  into  this  ancient  Christian  Church,  both  morally  and 
spiritually.  Unfortunately,  in  consequence  of  the  adverse 
attitude  of  the  bishop  and  his  party,  all  of  whom  were  enemies 
of  reform,  this  effort  had  to  be  abandoned  in  1836.  Yet  the 
general  work  of  the  Society  was  by  no  means  allowed  to  stand 
still,  and  a  more  extensive  work  than  ever  was  started  amongst 
the  heathen  of  a  district  the  Society  had  already  once  occupied, 
that  of  Travancore.  Madras,  the  eastern  gate  of  South  India, 
had  already  been  occupied  by  the  Society,  in  18 14;  it  was  their 
first  station  manned  entirely  by  European  missionaries.     Their 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  PROTESTANT  MISSIONS      159 

work  in  this  region  acquired  an  influence  and  an  importance  far 
beyond  what  such  a  comparatively  small  cause  could  otherwise 
have  exerted,  owing  to  the  distinguished  missionary  John 
Tucker  (1833-1847),  who  was  at  the  same  time  local  Director  of 
all  the  Society's  work  in  South  India.  During  one  period  the 
Church  Missionary  Society  had  missionaries  in  Tranquebar 
also,  whose  duties  were  to  assist  the  Danish  brethren.  Of  these, 
the  best  known  is  Schnorre ;  Rhenius  was  also  there  for  a  time. 
No  lasting  connection,  however,  was  formed. 

Neither  at  this  time  nor  for  many  years  afterwards  did 
England  send  out  nearly  enough  missionaries  to  man  the 
rapidly  extending  English  missions.  Germany,  on  the  other 
hand,  had  two  Missionary  Colleges,  at  Berlin  and  at  Basle  ;  and, 
whilst  that  of  Janicke  at  Berlin  did  not  send  any  missionaries  to 
India,  the  Basle  College  trained  more  candidates  than  they  could 
employ  on  their  own  mission  field.  Most  of  these  young  men 
entered  the  service  of  English  societies,  and  preferably  that  of 
the  Church  Missionary  Society.  During  the  eighteenth  century, 
when  both  the  Danish  Society  and  the  Society  for  Promoting 
Christian  Knowledge  had  been  almost  exclusively  carried  on  by 
German  Lutheran  missionaries,  it  had  been  considered  a  matter 
of  course  that  such  missionaries  should  be  ordained  after  the 
Lutheran  fashion,  and  should  be  guided  by  Lutheran  principles 
both  in  their  missionary  practice  and  their  church  government. 
They  could  confirm  and  even  ordain  those  whom  they  deemed 
suitable,  and  were  almost  independent  in  their  work,  even 
at  stations  which  the  High  Church  Society  for  Promoting 
Christian  Knowledge  regarded  as  its  own  domain.  During  this 
period  no  scruple  was  felt  as  to  the  appointment  of  Lutherans 
to  Anglican  mission  stations.  But  from  the  advent  of  the 
nineteenth  century  Anglican  churchmanship  was  perceptibly 
strengthened.  Friction  first  came  about  in  1818.  It  was 
demanded  of  Lutheran  clergy  in  the  service  of  the  Church 
Missionary  Society  that  they  should  place  themselves  entirely 
under  the  "  Corresponding  Committees "  in  India,  into  whose 
hands  the  Home  Committee  had  confided  the  entire  direction 
of  their  Indian  missions.  This  was  absolutely  contrary  to  the 
traditions  of  the  eighteenth  century,  when  the  Lutherans  had 
received  all  their  instructions  from  Germany.  By  this  regulation 
they  were  drawn  into  a  far  more  strict  dependence  upon  the 
English  Church ;  but  they  complied.  The  next  step  of  the 
Church  Missionary  Society  was  to  insist  that  at  all  their  stations 
the  Anglican  form  of  service,  i.e.  the  Common  Prayer  Book, 
should  be  the  standard  of  authority ;  no  candidate  was  to  be 
accepted  for  missionary  work  who  did  not  bind  himself  to 
observe  this  condition.     That  was  a  difficult  demand  for  German 


i6o  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

Lutherans ;  but  they  again  complied.  Then  came  the  further 
requirement  that  all  Lutherans  wishing  to  be  accepted  for  service 
under  the  Church  Missionary  Society  should  take  Anglican 
orders,  or,  if  they  had  already  taken  Lutheran  orders,  that  they 
should  be  reordained.  That  the  Anglicans  attached  much  weight 
to  this  condition  is  shown  by  the  reordination  of  several 
missionaries  at  the  Danish  stations,  and  by  that  of  Abdul  Masih. 
And  then  came  the  additional  order  that  the  Lutheran 
missionaries  should  in  their  general  practice  renounce  the  rights 
which  they  actually  possessed,  rights  to  confirm  and  to  ordain, 
in  favour  of  the  prior  rights  of  the  bishops.  It  is  perfectly 
obvious  that  for  men  who  were  in  any  sense  bound  by  the 
traditions  of  the  German  Reformation  it  would  be  a  much  more 
difficult  matter  to  comply  with  this  Anglican  demand.  A 
secession  like  that  of  Rhenius  was  only  to  be  expected  ;  and  it 
opened  the  eyes  of  many  on  both  sides  of  the  Channel  to  the 
fact  that  the  co-operation  of  Lutheran  missionaries  in  Anglican 
missions  had  become,  through  this  development  of  the  Anglican 
spirit,  impracticable,  and  that  a  point  had  been  arrived  at  where 
such  a  union  was  harmful  to  conscience.  Only  the  fact  that  the 
Basle  youths  had  imbibed  uncommonly  little  of  the  real  spirit  of 
their  Church  will  account  for  the  union  having  been  maintained 
so  long.  And  yet  it  was  inevitable  that  as  time  went  on  this 
bond,  which  for  more  than  a  century  had  united  England  and 
Germany,  should  be  loosened.  The  genuine  sympathy  with 
which  friends  in  Germany  regarded  the  Church  Missionary 
Society  could  not  alter  the  fact  that  this  Society  too  is  a 
"  Church  "  mission,  with  the  clear,  decided  stamp  of  Anglicanism 
upon  it,  or,  as  Henry  Venn  expresses  it  in  his  famous  Remarks 
on  the  Constitution  and  Practice  of  the  Church  Missionary 
Society,  with  Reference  to  its  Ecclesiastical  Relations,  "that 
the  constitution  and  practice  of  the  Church  Missionary  Society 
are  in  strict  conformity  with  ecclesiastical  principles  as  they 
are  recognised  in  the  constitution  and  practice  of  the  Church  of 
England." 

The  Wesleyans  also  made  immediate  use  of  the  opening  up 
of  India  through  the  new  Charter,  although  for  nearly  half  a 
century  they  limited  their  labours  almost  entirely  to  South  India 
and  Ceylon.  They  began  their  work  in  the  Tamil  country  in 
i8i8  at  Trichinopoly,  and  from  1821  onwards  extended  it  to 
Negapatam,  Manargudi,  Melnattam,  and  to  the  highly  situated 
and  healthy  city  of  Bangalore.  In  this  town  they  commenced 
their  Kanarese  Mission  in  1835,  in  connection  with  which  stations 
were  opened  at  Gubbi  in  the  Mysore  (1838),  at  the  old 
capital,  likewise  called  Mysore  (1838),  at  Tumkur,  and  other 
places.       In     this    part    of    India,    therefore,    and    especially 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  PROTESTANT  MISSIONS      i6i 

in  the  Mysore,  they  thus  won  for  themselves  a  leading 
position. 

As  well  as  the  English,  there  was  no  lack  of  Scotch 
missionaries  in  India.  In  the  year  1822  the  first  representatives 
of  the  Scotch  Missionary  Society  (which  was  taken  over  by  the 
Established  Church  of  Scotland  in  1835)  landed  in  Western 
India,  and  for  long  years  sought  to  obtain  a  foothold  at  Poona, 
at  different  places  in  the  interior  and  along  the  Konkan  coast, 
without,  however,  encountering  any  tokens  of  success.  The  work 
of  the  Scotch  missionaries  received  its  first  great  impetus  when 
John  Wilson  (1829),  Alexander  Duff  (1830),  and  John  Anderson 
(1837),  three  of  the  very  greatest  of  Indian  missionaries, 
commenced  at  Bombay,  Calcutta,  and  Madras  respectively  those 
missionary  labours  the  conception  of  which  was  as  magnificent 
as  their  influence  was  far-reaching. 

The  change  of  creed  on  the  part  of  the  first  evangelists  sent 
by  the  American  Board,  Judson  and  Rice,  had  led  in  1814  to 
the  formation  of  the  American  Baptist  Missionary  Union,  whose 
first  station  was  that  at  Rangoon,  previously  founded  by  Judson 
in  1 813.  After  this  mission  had  for  more  than  ten  years  carried 
on  a  difficult  and  unsuccessful  attempt  to  convert  the  very 
unapproachable  Buddhists  of  Burma,  a  most  promising  door 
was  opened  to  it  amongst  the  Karen  Tribes  in  the  primeval 
forests  of  the,  as  yet,  unexplored  interior.  New  stations  were 
established  at  Moulmein  (1827)  and  Tavoy  (1828).  The  progress 
of  Baptist  missions  in  Burma  dates  from  the  inception  of  the 
Karen  Mission. 

The  older  American  Mission,  the  American  Board,  enjoyed  an 
uneventful  and  unobtrusive  existence  in  Bombay,  principally 
occupied  with  literary  and  educational  work.  As  Americans 
the  few  missionaries  felt  themselves  hampered  in  all  directions. 
Only  in  the  north  of  Ceylon,  in  the  Jaffna  district,  did  their  work 
meet  with  any  success,  and  even  there  it  was  carried  on  amongst 
an  unreceptive  and  caste-proud  people. 

(f)  Last   Years  of  the  Danish  Mission.     1800- 1840 

Once  more  we  must  return  to  the  Danish  Mission.  We 
designedly  place  the  hour  of  its  decline  at  the  very  time  when 
English  missions  began  to  bestir  themselves ;  it  is  this  very 
contrast  which  illuminates  the  sorrowfulness  of  the  event.  At 
the  same  time,  this  period  during  which  the  Tamil  Mission 
flourished  belongs  most  intimately  to  the  history  of  the  general 
development  of  missionary  work.  After  Christian  Friedrich 
Schwartz's  death,  dark  days  set  in:  the  saintly  Janicke  had  died 
in  1790;  the  excellent  and  zealous  Gericke  followed  him  to  the 

IX 


1 62  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

grave  in  1803.  Whilst  the  experienced  men  of  an  older 
generation  passed  away,  there  arose  none  like  them  to  fill 
the  vacant  places,  and  the  few  who  remained  were  in  nowise 
able  to  attain  to  the  stature  of  the  giants  who  had  preceded 
them. 

The  peculiar  strength  of  the  mission  during  the  eighteenth 
century  had  lain  in  the  first  place  in  the  remarkable  alliance 
subsisting  between  Copenhagen,  Halle,  and  London.  In  spite 
of  all  its  ill-fortune  and  of  many  false  steps,  the  Missionary 
Board  at  Copenhagen  had  become  the  ruling  partner  in  its 
affairs,  and  friends  at  Halle  had  for  the  most  part  sent  the  sums 
they  had  collected  via  Copenhagen.  Copenhagen  had  become 
the  "  Head "  of  the  mission.  But  the  interest  which  had 
formerly  been  taken  in  the  mission,  especially  by  the  Danish 
Royal  Family  and  the  exalted  society  nearest  the  throne,  had 
long  since  grown  cold  ;  the  ardent  hopes  which  had  been  fixed 
on  an  extended  trade  with  India  had  not  been  realised ; 
Tranquebar  was  more  a  burden  than  a  source  of  revenue.  The 
mission  suffered  from  this  lack  of  interest.  In  fact,  there  never 
had  been  much  appreciation  of  or  enthusiasm  for  the  further 
development  of  missionary  work  in  the  English  and  Dutch 
possessions  and  in  the  Native  States.  At  the  turn  of  the 
eighteenth  century  the  colony,  which  had  hitherto  been  adminis- 
tered by  the  Danish  East  India  Company,  became  the  exclusive 
property  of  the  crown  of  Denmark.  This  too  was  a  change 
wholly  detrimental  to  the  mission.  The  missionaries  lost  the 
privilege  of  being  the  immediate  proteges  of  the  king ;  the  few 
juridical  functions  they  had  hitherto  exercised  were  taken  from 
them.  The  newly  appointed  Government  officials  had  no 
appreciation  for  the  religious  objects  of  the  mission ;  the 
missionaries  seemed  superfluous  in  their  eyes,  and  they  annoyed 
them  in  every  possible  way.  And  can  it  very  much  be  wondered 
at  when,  as  early  as  1776,  a  man  like  Hee  Wadum  was  made 
Secretary  to  the  Danish  Missionary  Board — a  man  who  was 
graceless  enough  to  write  to  one  of  the  missionaries  (John  of 
Tranquebar) :  "  Catholics  and  Jews  who  join  our  Church 
undoubtedly  take  this  step  simply  to  gain  some  temporal 
advantage,  and  I  always  think  that  the  man,  whoever  he  may 
be,  who  is  once  untrue  to  his  religion,  can  never,  and  should 
never  be  trusted  again,  as  I  believe  that  such  a  man,  given 
favourable  opportunities,  would  be  ready  barefacedly  to  bring 
about  changes  in  religion  as  often  as  he  liked,  and  to  perpetrate 
the  most  insolent  acts  of  knavery."  With  such  opinions  being 
held  by  members  of  the  governing  body  in  Denmark,  it  is  no 
wonder  that  the  Government  passed  a  resolution  in  1824  that 
"  the  mission  shall  no  longer  aim  at  conversions,  but  that  it 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  PROTESTANT  MISSIONS      163 

shall  establish  schools  in  which  such  knowledge  as  is  profitable 
to  everybody  shall  be  taught,  in  order  that  the  right  way  may 
be  prepared  for  the  true  dissemination  of  Christianity " !  A 
royal  decree  was  accordingly  published  on  May  i8th,  1825, 
which  ordered  that  "  the  pastorate  at  the  Danish  Zion  Church 
shall  be  incorporated  with  the  office  of  first  missionary.  The 
religious  officials,  who  have  hitherto  borne  the  title  of 
'  missionary '  in  Tranquebar,  shall  only  attempt  to  convert  the 
heathen  to  Christianity  in  places  where  they  have  good  hopes 
of  success,  and  where  the  moral  tone  of  the  natives  shall  demand 
it,  but  no  public  funds  shall  be  employed  for  any  such  purposes." 

Halle,  on  the  other  hand,  had  been  the  "  heart  "  of  the  mission. 
Here  a  true  enthusiasm  for  their  glorious  calling  and  a  knowledge 
of  its  wondrous  possibilities  had  first  dawned  upon  the  mission- 
aries ;  it  was  from  here  they  had  gone  forth ;  they  regarded 
the  Francke  Institute  as  their  spiritual  home.  The  sage  spiritual 
and  missionary  counsel  of  the  two  Franckes,  father  and  son, 
had  enlightened  them  amid  doubts  and  perplexities,  sustained 
them  in  distresses,  and  at  all  times  comforted  and  strengthened 
them.  But  with  rationalism  a  new  spirit  had  come  over  Halle : 
the  faith  which  works  by  love  was  dead,  and  a  cold  and  super- 
ficial intellectuality  had  no  power  to  captivate  the  hearts  of  men 
— least  of  all,  in  the  interests  of  the  difficult  and  self-sacrificing 
missionary  service.  This  shallow  rationalism,  too,  soon  made  a 
way  for  itself  into  the  very  ranks  of  the  missionaries.  Rev.  G.  H. 
Hiittemann,  who  had  gone  out  with  Schwartz  in  1750  and  had 
worked  well  during  the  first  fifteen  or  twenty  years,  now  came  to 
the  conclusion  that  the  Tranquebar  Mission  was  nothing  but  a 
great  almshouse,  and  that  the  Tamils  were  a  nation  of  incorrigible 
beggars  and  liars.  Rev.  C.  S.  John,  who  had  also  formerly 
been  a  pious  Lutheran  pastor,  came  to  think  it  no  longer 
advisable  to  print  passages  like  John  iii.  16  in  reading  books 
destined  for  the  use  of  native  children  in  the  schools !  For 
seventy  years  Ziegenbalg's  old-fashioned  Catechism  had  been  in 
use  at  Tranquebar,  but  now  a  new  one  was  to  be  introduced, 
based  solely  upon  nature.  Instead  of  printing  the  entire  Bible 
as  hitherto,  only  extracts  from  it  were  to  be  given,  in  order  that 
the  press  might  be  left  free  for  the  publication  of  other  more 
generally  useful  matter !  Dr.  Rottler's  collection  of  plants  and 
John's  collection  of  shells  were  renowned  amongst  the  scholars 
of  Europe,  and  eight  different  learned  societies  conferred  their 
honorary  membership  upon  both  scientists.  But  of  course 
missionary  work  suffered  severely  by  these  hobbies,  the  country 
districts  were  left  to  native  preachers  and  catechists,  the  churches 
were  forsaken,  the  sacraments  despised. 

As  for  London,  there  had  never  been  more  than  a  few  small 


1 64  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

circles  which  had  supported  the  mission  in  India ;  the  Society 
for  Promoting  Christian  Knowledge,  the  organ  and  channel 
by  which  English  help  had  been  forwarded,  had  no  real  heart  for 
the  work  which  had  unexpectedly  been  forced  upon  it.  It  felt 
its  true  vocation  to  be  the  circulation  of  Christian  literature,  the 
care  of  schools,  the  establishment  of  printing  presses,  etc.  It  was 
an  important  and,  in  reality,  a  right  decision  when  in  1826  it 
resolved  to  hand  over  its  entire  South  India  Mission  to  the  sister 
organisation,  the  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel,  which 
at  all  events  desired  to  become  a  real  foreign  missionary  society. 
This  very  transference  was,  however,  destined  to  be  the  cause  of 
far-reaching  complications.  The  Society  for  the  Propagation  of 
the  Gospel  has  been  from  the  very  commencement  the  Society  of 
the  extreme  High  Church  party.  With  the  increasing  influence 
of  High  Anglicanism,  dating  from  the  beginning  of  the  century, 
and  its  growing  consciousness  of  power  in  English  colonial  and 
missionary  life,  the  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel 
became  the  standard-bearer  and  the  disseminator  of  hierarchic 
romanising  tendencies ;  and  a  new  spirit  was  infused  into  the 
Tamil  Mission,  a  wind  from  the  opposite  quarter,  which  became 
all  the  more  perceptible  in  proportion  as  the  gentle  and  refreshing 
spiritual  breezes  of  pietism  from  Plalle  died  away. 

The  second  element  of  peculiar  strength  in  the  old  mission 
had  lain  in  its  independence.  Although  in  Tranquebar  itself  the 
missionaries  were  under  the  often  mean  and  paltry  direction  of 
the  Danish  Board,  which  also  owned  the  whole  of  the  missionary 
property  there,  yet  the  rest  of  the  missionaries  and  stations  were 
almost  entirely  independent.  The  only  tie  which  bound  them  to 
Europe  was  the  meagre  stipend  sent  out  from  London  and  the 
more  or  less  considerable  supplements  to  it  forwarded  from 
Halle.  Scarcely  anybody  took  any  interest  in  what  they  did  ; 
they  rendered  an  account  of  their  stewardship  to  no  one ;  the 
stations,  churches,  and  dwelling-houses  had  been  built  out  of 
their  own  private  means,  and  they  regarded  them  as  their 
personal  property,  just  as  all  landed  property  was  legally  vested 
in  their  names  as  private  persons.  If  they  met  in  conference 
and  passed  rules  for  their  common  guidance,  it  was  entirely  their 
own  affair.  This  independence  had  few  perils  so  long  as  it  was 
exercised  by  great  and  truly  disinterested  characters,  who  were 
moreover  all  animated  by  a  common  spirit  of  Lutheran  pietism. 
It  became  a  fountain  of  much  petty  strife  and  particularism  when 
men  of  inferior  powers  came  upon  the  scene,  and  a  new  school 
of  thought  made  itself  felt. 

It  was  providential  that  in  this  transition  period  several 
missionaries  of  very  old  standing  were  there  to  carry  on  the 
traditions   of    an    earlier   epoch.     At   Madras   there    laboured 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  PROTESTANT  MISSIONS      165 

Patzold/  a  man  of  incomprehensible  and  unreliable  character 
(1803-1817),  and  Rottler,  pliant  and  weak  (1803-1836);  at 
Tanjore  Christian  Friedrich  Schwartz's  adopted  son,  Kaspar 
Kohlhoff  ( 1 787-1 844),  who  was  first  his  foster-father's  greatly- 
beloved  helper,  and  then  his  successor  for  fifty  years  ;  at  Trichi- 
nopoly  was  the  ever  faithful  Pohle  (1778-1818) ;  and  at  Tranque- 
bar  Dr.  A.  F.  Kammerer  (1790-1837),  a  shallow  Rationalist,  who 
was  at  the  time  of  his  death  the  last  of  the  old  Hallensian 
missionaries.  The  developments  which  came  about  during  the 
lifetime  of  these  men  were  not  the  same  in  Danish  Tranquebar 
as  in  the  English  stations.  At  Tranquebar  several  of  the  Eng- 
lish missionary  societies,  such  as  the  Society  for  the  Propagation 
of  the  Gospel  and  the  Church  Missionary  Society,  made  efforts 
either  to  assist  the  tottering  mission  or  to  locate  themselves 
alongside  it.  But  so  completely  had  the  missionary  spirit 
perished  from  the  hearts  of  the  Danish  Mission  Board  that  it 
could  not  bring  itself  to  allow  the  English  to  share  its  missionary 
work.  The  farthest  it  would  go  was  in  1820  to  cede  to  the 
Society  for  Promoting  Christian  Knowledge,  for  reasons  of 
economy,  all  the  village  causes  dependent  on  Tranquebar,  com- 
prising the  districts  of  eleven  catechists  with  1300  members  and 
eleven  chapels.  The  Tranquebar  Mission  was  thereby  greatly 
reduced.  The  two  missionaries  stationed  there,  Kammerer  and 
Schreyvogel,  in  18 16  entered  into  a  compact  with  the  newly 
appointed  Anglican  Bishop  of  Calcutta,  Bishop  Middleton,  to 
hand  over  their  entire  mission  to  him  and  to  the  Church  he 
represented.  But  the  Mission  Board  forbade  the  carrying  out 
of  this  arrangement.  Tranquebar  weathered  the  winter  with 
difficulty  as  a  station  of  the  Danish  Mission. 

On  the  other  stations  the  anglicising  and  anglicanising  pro- 
cess went  on  slowly  but  surely.  When  Patzold  died  at  Madras 
in  1 8 17,  the  only  two  surviving  Hallensian  missionaries,  who 
according  to  tradition,  though  scarcely  according  to  the  strict 
letter  of  the  law,  could  claim  both  the  landed  and  the  real 
property  of  the  Madras  station,  made  over  all  this  property  to 
the  Madras  District  Committee  of  the  Society  for  Promoting 
Christian  Knowledge,  and  this  last-named  body  placed  the 
aged  Dr.  Rottler  in  charge,  as  their  own  missionary.  The 
Society  for  Promoting  Christian  Knowledge  thus  gained 
an  actual  right  of  possession  over  one  of  the  oldest  and  most 
important  missionary  stations.  And  this  right  passed  without 
challenge  in  1826  to  the  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the 
Gospel.  Considering  the  distinctly  High  Church  principles  of 
the  new  owners,  it  was  only  natural  that  they  should  endeavour 

^  As   already  mentioned  in  the   note   to   p.   136,   Patzold  was   for  a   time  Pro- 
fessor of  Tamil  at  Fort  William  College,  Calcutta. 


1 66  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

to  promulgate  their  own  particular  views.  Dr.  Rottler  translated 
the  Book  of  Common  Prayer  into  Tamil,  and  introduced  it  to 
his  congregation.  Confirmation,  ordination,  and  the  consecration 
of  churches  became  the  exclusive  privileges  of  the  bishop.  At 
Trichinopoly  and  Tanjore  the  Lutheran  liturgy,  catechism,  and 
hymn-book  were  retained  in  use  until  1826  and  1844  respectively  ; 
but  neither  Fohle  at  the  former,  nor  K.  Kohlhoff  at  the  latter, 
had  either  the  inclination  or  the  ability  to  make  a  definite  stand 
on  behalf  of  the  old  Lutheran  forms  of  service  and  church  p/)lity 
as  against  the  new  Anglican  spirit.  After  their  death  the  old 
customs  and  rites  naturally  fell  into  abeyance,  and  the  more  so 
because  here  again  the  deceased  missionaries  had  left  all  their 
property  to  the  English  Society  unconditionally.  Whether  the 
native  churches  had  more  appreciation  and  love  for  Lutheranism 
than  their  missionaries  possessed  is  a  matter  on  which  we  may 
reasonably  entertain  some  degree  of  doubt.  Certain  it  is  that 
the  tenaciously  conservative  Tamils  clung  to  the  excellent 
Bible  of  Fabricius,  to  the  sweet  hymns  he  had  translated,  to  the 
order  of  the  Lutheran  service,  and  to  all  sorts  of  old  customs  and 
usages,  good  and  bad.  But  the  transition  from  the  older  period 
to  the  new  Anglican  one  had  come  about  so  gradually,  and  had 
been  so  prudently  carried  through  by  the  Anglicans  as  far  as 
ecclesiastical  affairs  were  concerned,  that  the  churches  would 
probably  have  become  entirely  reconciled  to  it,  had  not  the 
question  of  caste  become  a  matter  of  burning  strife.  By  1840 
almost  all  the  old  Hallensian  mission  stations  were  occupied  by 
English  missionaries  in  Anglican  orders. 

The  old  Danish  missionaries  had  treated  the  question  of 
caste  very  indulgently.  With  few  exceptions,  such  as  Benjamin 
Schultze  at  Tranquebar  (17 19-1725)  and  Pohle  at  Trichinopoly, 
they  had  hesitated  to  grapple  seriously  with  this  deeply  rooted 
national  institution,  which  is  most  intimately  bound  up  with  all 
the  manners  and  customs  of  the  Tamil  race.  Relying  on  the  aid 
of  the  Word  of  God,  on  public  and  private  exhortation,  and  on 
their  own  spiritual  influence,  they  had  contented  themselves  with 
an  effort  to  destroy  the  evil  from  within.  Some  of  vthem,  and 
especially  Chr.  Fr.  Schwartz,  had  met  with  such  signal  success  as 
to  be  able  to  write,  as  Schwartz  did  in  a  letter  dated  January 
1 791  :  "  As  far  as  the  high  and  low  castes  (the  Sudras  and  the 
Pariahs)  are  concerned,  God  hath  graciously  helped  us  so  that 
now  scarcely  any  distinction  is  perceptible  either  in  the  Church 
or  at  the  Holy  Communion.  This  has  been  done  by  frequent 
loving  and  earnest  exhortation,  and  we  have  carefully  avoided 
any  kind  of  compulsion."  And  his  successor  in  Trichinopoly, 
K.  Kohlhoff,  was  able  in  1828  to  testify  that  "caste  distinctions 
have  until  recently  scarcely  ever  been  the  cause  of  dissension 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  PROTESTANT  MISSIONS      167 

among  the  converts,  and  gradually  they  have  lost  a  great  part  of 
their  significance"  (Handmann,  Evang.-luth.  Taniulen  Mission, 
p.  307).  But  in  the  churches  the  Sudras  and  the  Pariahs  sat 
apart,  the  last-named  followed  the  Sudras,  and  even  the  Sudra 
women,  to  the  Lord's  Table,  and  the  ordination  of  an  t)therwise 
competent  and  worthy  catechist,  Rajanaiken  by  name,  was  refused 
solely  because  of  his  being  a  Pariah,  as  "  it  is  not  to  be  expected 
that  a  Sudra  will  receive  the  Sacrament  at  his  hands,"  and  "  the 
Pariahs  might  thereby  easily  be  led  to  regard  the  Sacrament 
with  contempt "  (Graul,  Stellwig  dcr  Evang.-lutJi.  Mission,  etc., 
p.  41).  As  a  matter  of  fact  they  had  taken  up  the  difficult  caste 
question  all  the  less  thoroughly  because,  according  to  Schwartz's 
communication,  two-thirds  of  the  congregations  consisted  of 
Sudras,  and  because  the  pastoral  work  they  had  already  accom- 
plished was  a  remarkable  advance  upon  the  lax  practices  of  the 
Roman  Catholics.  But  it  must  be  remembered  that  this  success 
was  only  attained  along  the  lines  of  the  most  zealous  and  con- 
scientious care  for  souls.  It  disappeared  the  moment  that  this 
latter  was  lost  sight  of  by  a  feebler  and  Epigonian  generation. 
Then  a  state  of  things  set  in  which  was  insupportable.  Bishop 
Daniel  Wilson,  a  stern  opponent  of  caste  we  must  admit,  nar- 
rates the  following  of  which  he  had  himself  been  an  eye-witness  : 
"  They  retained  the  marks  of  heathendom  upon  their  forehead 
(probably  he  meant  the  Podtu,  or  beauty  spot,  which  certainly 
resembles  the  heathen  signs  on  the  forehead  very  closely;  of. 
Handmann,  p.  198);  heathen  processions  and  ceremonies  were 
observed  at  marriages  and  funerals  ;  the  degradation  of  the  mass 
of  the  congregations  was  as  debasing  as  before  their  Christian 
confession, — exclusion  from  the  same  division  of  the  Church, — 
approach  to  the  Table  of  the  Lord  forbidden  in  common, 
— reception  for  religious  teaching  into  the  houses  of  those  of 
superior  caste  denied, — the  sponsors,  except  of  equal  caste, 
declined, — separate  spots  and  divisions  in  the  burial-ground 
imposed, — in  short,  the  impassable  barrier  of  Brahmanical  caste 
erected  again,  which  condemns  the  one  class  of  mankind  to  per- 
petual debasement,  and  elevates  the  other  to  disproportionate 
pride, — and  by  which  all  the  intercommunity  of  the  body  of 
Christ  is  violated  and  destroyed  "  (Westcott,  Our  Oldest  Indian 
Mission,  p.  54).  In  Sandirapadi,  an  offshoot  from  Tranquebar, 
the  Christian  Sudras  would  under  no  conditions  allow  the 
Christian  Pariahs  who  resided  just  outside  the  village  to  enter 
their  old  stone  chapel  (Handmann,  p.  312).  In  Madras 
communion  was  administered  on  separate  days  for  Sudras  and 
Pariahs  (Westcott,  p.  36),^  and  so  forth. 

^  A  double  communion  cup,  separated  for  Sudras  and  Pariahs,  was  in  use,  though 
only  for  a  time,  at  Tranquebar,  but  it  was  soon  laid  aside.     That  this   slanderous 


1 68  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

In  view  of  these  caste  complications  in  the  native  churches — 
compHcations  which  continued  to  increase  enormously — it  was 
momentous  that  decided  opposition  to  caste  made  its  way 
everywhere  in  India  during  this  new  missionary  period,  which 
lasted  for  half  a  century  (1792- 1840),  and  in  which  English  in- 
fluence predominated.  We  do  not  hear  that  those  missionaries 
who  led  the  way  for  all  the  rest,  such  as  Carey,  Marshman, 
Duff,  Wilson,  Lacroix,  and  others,  ever  felt  any  serious 
scruples  on  the  question  of  caste.  They  were  absolutely  con- 
vinced that  caste  was  an  institution  wholly  incompatible  with 
the  Church  of  Christ,  and  that  at  any  price  it  must  be  cast  out  of 
the  Lord's  Vineyard,  root  and  branch.  It  could  not  be  other- 
wise than  that  this  new  spirit,  this  new  and  radical  fashion  of 
regarding  the  caste  evil,  should  also  gain  adherents  among 
missionaries  in  the  Tamil  country,  and  that  here,  where  the  sense 
of  caste  was  most  deeply  rooted  in  the  minds  of  the  people,  and 
where  for  a  century  the  Christian  Church  had  treated  caste  with 
a  vast  amount  of  patience,  violent  conflicts  should  arise.  That 
the  carrying  out  of  the  new  English  caste  policy  should  coincide 
with  the  anglicanisation  of  the  flocks  of  the  old  Danish  mission- 
aries was  a  fact  full  of  moment. 

Rev.  C.  T.  Rhenius,  a  German  missionary  who  had  landed  in 
South  India  as  early  as  1 8 14  and  who  was  one  of  the  first  Church 
Missionary  Society's  missionaries,  was  a  strong  opponent  of 
caste.  He  began  his  work  in  the  Black  Town  {i.e.  native 
quarter)  of  Madras  in  definite  antagonism  to  it.  Rev.  L.  P. 
Haubroe,  a  Danish  missionary  who  had  been  Rottler's  assistant 
under  the  Society  for  Promoting  Christian  Knowledge,  was 
influenced  by  Rhenius,  and  became  the  first  man  to  attempt  to 
do  away  with  the  old  caste  customs  among  the  particularly 
sensitive  Madras  converts.  His  demands  were  modest  enough. 
He  began  by  making  promotions  amongst  the  children  at  the 
Christian  parish  school  regardless  of  their  caste — a  practice 
which  now  obtains  almost  everywhere  in  India  as  a  matter  of 
course.  Even  this  much  resulted  in  a  number  of  parents 
temporarily  withdrawing  their  children  from  the  school ;  but  he 
carried  his  point.  Encouraged  by  this  first  success,  he  then 
went  a  very  little  farther,  and  made  the  Pariah  children  sit  in  the 
front  rows  at  church  amongst  the  Sudra  children.  This  minute 
change  was  sufficient  to  bring  about  a  far-reaching  upheaval  in 
the  church  at  Madras.  When  Bishop  Heber  visited  Madras  in 
1826,  the  injured  congregation  appealed  to  him  to  protect  their 
caste  customs ;  and  the  warm-hearted  but  enthusiastic  Bishop, 

accusation  should  even  nowadays  be  flung  at  the  old  Danish  missionaries,  and  still 
more  that  it  should  be  malevolently  cast  in  the  teeth  of  the  Leipzig  missionaries, 
is  greatly  to  be  deplored  (cf.  Handmann,  p.  291,  note). 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  PROTESTANT  MISSIONS      169 

who,  under  the  influence  of  a  Tamil  catechist,  David,  recently- 
ordained  by  him,  only  regarded  caste  as  a  social  institution  of 
the  Hindus,  removed  Haubroe  to  Tanjore.  In  consequence  of 
this  incident,  Bishop  Heber  took  a  plebiscite  of  all  South  Indian 
missionaries  upon  the  caste  question  ;  as  most  of  these  were 
still  guided  by  the  traditions  of  the  Danish  Mission,  the  result 
was  a  large  majority  in  favour  of  non-interference.  The  sudden 
and  unexpected  death  of  Heber  at  Trichinopoly  on  April  3rd, 
1827,  caused  the  matter  to  be  for  a  time  forgotten. 

In  the  year  1833  it  was  again  revived  by  Bishop  Wilson  on 
the  occasion  of  his  visitation  in  South  India.  We  may  reason- 
ably doubt  whether  it  were  prudent  on  his  part  to  do  this  ;  for 
he  judged  the  caste  question  purely  from  a  North  Indian 
standpoint,  and  he  was  only  familiar  with  northern  conditions  ; 
and  further,  he  was  just  on  the  point  of  relinquishing  South 
India  to  the  newly  created  see  of  Madras  (1833).  On  the 
other  hand,  as  Metropolitan,  he  was  the  only  individual  in  a 
position  to  give  due  effect  to  the  opinions  on  caste  which  were 
now  universally  held  in  English  missionary  circles.  Bishop 
Wilson  took  up  a  precisely  opposite  view  to  that  of  his  prede- 
cessor Heber ;  he  saw  in  caste  the  very  stronghold  of  heathenism, 
an  institution  which  had  degenerated  along  with  Hinduism  and 
which  was  pre-eminently  of  a  religious  nature.  In  a  pastoral 
letter  of  July  5th,  1833,  he  declared:  "The  distinction  of 
caste  must  be  abandoned,  decidedly,  immediately,  and  finally." 
Caste  differences  were  no  longer  to  be  observed  in  approaching 
the  Lord's  Table,  the  appointment  of  catechists,  the  choice  of 
godparents,  the  permission  to  attend  church  meetings,  the 
positions  of  graves  in  the  cemeteries,  and  so  forth.  And 
whilst  he  desired  that  the  missionaries  should  deal  prudently 
with  separate  cases,  it  was  yet  his  unalterable  will  that  the  new 
caste  policy  should  be  adopted,  even  in  the  congregations  of 
the  old  Danish  Mission.  He  felt  himself  all  the  more  bound 
to  such  a  course  of  action  because  the  Danish  congregations 
had  in  the  meantime  come  under  the  protection  of  the  Society 
for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel,  the  episcopal  missionary 
society,  and  thereby  he  as  Metropolitan  had  become  their 
paramount  and  responsible  leader  in  all  missionary  affairs. 

The  publication  of  this  energetic  pastoral  led  to  exciting 
proceedings  in  the  South  Indian  churches.  In  Vepery  Church, 
Madras,  the  whole  of  the  Sudra  Christians,  as  one  man,  left 
the  building  after  the  letter  had  been  read  and  renounced  their 
membership — a  schism  that  was  only  healed  after  the  exercise 
of  much  patience  and  tact.  In  Tanjore  a  wild  uproar  arose 
in  the  church  immediately  after  the  reading.  Wilson  relied  in 
this  case  on  personal  dealing :  he  reasoned  long  and  impress- 


I70  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

ively  with  the  congregation.  He  also  arranged  for  a  celebration 
of  the  Holy  Communion  at  Trichinopoly  in  which,  according  to  a 
previously  concerted  plan,  Sudras,  Pariahs,  and  Englishmen  were 
to  approach  the  Communion  Table  indiscriminately.  But  it  was 
all  in  vain.  The  majority  of  the  native  preachers  and  catechists 
preferred  rather  to  be  dismissed  than  to  comply  with  the 
Bishop's  orders.  A  mighty  wave  of  discord  swept  over  the  old 
pampered  Congregations.  They  now  perceived,  and  that  from 
a  side  on  which  they  were  most  sensitive,  that  a  new  spirit  had 
taken  possession  of  the  leaders  of  the  missionary  enterprise. 

More  than  a  decade  passed  by  before  the  English  missionary 
authorities  took  further  steps  towards  abolishing  the  caste  evil. 
Decided  action  was  brought  about  in  1847  by  the  frank  and 
resolute  testimonies  of  Anderson's  converts  at  Madras,  who 
were  all  educated  young  men  of  the  highest  caste.  The 
missionaries  now  came  to  the  conclusion  that,  once  and  for  all, 
cost  what  it  might,  the  opposition  between  Sudras  and  Pariahs 
within  the  Church  must  be  put  an  end  to.  To  this  end  they 
determined  to  launch  out  in  a  radically  new  direction :  the 
Christians  were  to  prove  at  common  "  love-feasts "  that  they 
had  become  one  body  in  Christ  Jesus.  Especially  for  native 
workers  of  every  kind,  and  in  particular  for  pastors  and 
catechists,  was  this  frequently  renewed  comradeship  around 
one  common  board  made  an  indispensable  condition  of  their 
being  employed  by  the  mission.  The  American  Congrega- 
tionalists  (the  American  Board)  at  Madura  took  the  lead.  In 
1847  they  promoted  several  so-called  "test  meals."  The 
consequence  was  a  grave  crisis  for  this  Society :  seventy-two 
persons,  thirty-eight  of  whom  were  catechists  (!)  were  suspended. 
In  the  Pasumalai  Seminary,  near  Madras,  practically  the  whole 
of  the  teachers  and  scholars  were  sent  home.  In  many  cases 
people  from  the  very  lowest  classes  replaced  the  teachers  who 
had  left ;  and  this  did  not  contribute  by  any  means  to  the 
uplifting  of  the  native  churches. 

In  spite  of  these  lamentable  experiences,  the  Madras  Mission- 
ary Conference  of  1848  went  yet  a  step  farther,  and  determined 
that  from  that  time  onwards  no  one  should  be  baptized  who 
did  not  break  caste  and  partake  of  food  prepared  by  a  Pariah. 
In  February  1850  this  Conference  issued  a  strong  manifesto 
against  caste,  the  "  Minute  of  the  Madras  Missionary  Confer- 
ence," which  clearly  defined  its  own  position,  and  which  was 
principally  aimed  at  the  methods  of  the  missionaries  of 
the  Leipzig  Society,  who  favoured  less  radical  proceedings. 
The  Foreign  Secretary  of  the  American  Board,  Rufus  Anderson, 
when  on  a  missionary  tour  in  1854  through  the  northern  parts 
of  Ceylon,  where  the  caste  spirit  is  especially  strong,  induced 


DEVELOPMENT  OP  PROTESTANT  MISSIONS     171 

ninety  of  the  most  respected  members  of  the  native  churches 
in  connection  with  the  American  Board  to  draw  up  a  declaration 
by  which  they  pledged  themselves,  "  as  far  as  they  them- 
selves were  concerned,  to  give  up  all  caste  distinctions  and 
social  usages,  and  also  to  discountenance  such  ideas  in  other 
people,  as  they  only  serve  to  nourish  pride,  to  bias  affection, 
and  to  restrain  the  dictates  of  Christian  kindliness  and  love." 
Since  that  time  the  caste  question  has  never  been  omitted  from 
the  proceedings  of  the  South  India  Missionary  Conferences, 
and  no  modification  has  ever  been  made  in  the  fundamental 
principle  of  absolute  breaking  of  caste  by  members  of  the 
Christian  community  and  its  extermination  by  all  lawful  means. 
This  is  expressed  with  particular  precision  in  a  resolution 
of  the  Bangalore  Missionary  Conference  (June  1879):  "The 
Conference  does  not  hold  caste  to  be  in  its  theory  and  practice 
a  mere  civil  class  distinction  but  rather,  and  to  an  overwhelming 
extent,  a  purely  religious  institution.  Looked  at  in  this  light, 
it  is  diametrically  opposed  to  the  Christian  doctrine  of  the 
unity  of  mankind  and  of  the  brotherhood  of  all  true  Christians. 
It  is  therefore  the  duty  of  all  missionaries  and  societies  to 
demand  an  absolute  renunciation  of  caste  and  all  its  outward 
manifestations  from  those  who  desire  to  be  received  into  the 
Church  of  Christ."  As  the  years  have  gone  by,  more  attention 
has  been  given  to  phraseology.  In  leaving  this  part  of  our 
subject  for  the  present,  we  may  cite  as  an  expression  of  modern 
feeling  on  the  subject  the  vote  of  the  South  India  Missionary 
Conference  of  1900,  which  was  also  ratified  by  the  General 
Missionary  Conference  of  1902  (we  give  the  later  form):  "The 
Conference  would  earnestly  emphasise  the  deliverance  of  the 
South  India  Missionary  Conference  of  1900,  viz.,  that 
caste,  wherever  it  exists  in  the  Church,  be  treated  as  a  great 
evil  to  be  discouraged  and  repressed.  It  is  further  of  opinion 
that  in  no  case  should  any  person  who  breaks  the  law  of  Christ 
by  observing  caste  hold  any  office  in  connection  with  the 
Church,  and  it  earnestly  appeals  to  all  Indian  Christians  to  use 
all  lawful  means  to  eradicate  so  unchristian  a  system." 

What  have  been  the  practical  results  of  this  decisive  and 
consistent  policy?  In  the  first  place,  it  has  here  and  there  led 
without  doubt  to  arbitrary  proceedings  and  hard  dealing,  to 
hypocrisy  and  dishonesty  ;  for  Christians  of  long  standing  and 
of  higher  castes  conformed  only  outwardly  to  the  clearly 
expressed  will  of  those  placed  in  authority — it  would  have 
needed  more  character  than  the  average  Hindu  possesses  to  with- 
stand this  temptation.  And  the  lower  caste  Christians  of  Pariah 
descent  commended  themselves  to  their  superiors  by  punctiliously 
oberving  the  external  signs  of  a  complete  break  with  caste  in 


172  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

order  to  place  themselves  in  as  favourable  a  light  as  possible,  to 
ensure  their  own  advancement  and  obtain  a  higher  salary,  or 
any  other  advantages.  But  the  results  of  the  poHcy  were  both 
broader  and  deeper  than  this.  Within  the  Christian  community 
the  Sudra  and  Pariah  castes,  hitherto  separated  by  a  yawning 
gulf,  were  drawn  nearer  together ;  there  ensued  a  certain  inter- 
blending  of  the  two — though  certainly  this  is  far  from  being, 
even  yet,  an  accomplished  fact ;  inter-marriages  even  took 
place,  and  in  consequence  of  these  mixed  families  of  Sudras  and 
Pariahs  are  not  uncommon.  It  is  not  true  to  say  that  the 
general  result  has  been  to  thereby  lower  the  Sudras  to  the 
level  of  the  Pariahs ;  on  the  contrary,  it  is  perhaps  the  Pariah 
Christians  who  have  the  more  frequently  and  to  a  greater  degree 
been  uplifted  and  developed  in  culture,  cleanliness,  good 
manners,  and  moral  character.  But  we  cannot  deny  that  in 
spite  of  all  its  successes  up  to  the  present  time  this  inter-blending 
will  for  a  long  time  have  to  be  a  subject  of  the  most  delicate 
and  constant  consideration  if  its  eventual  result  is  not  to  be  the 
proletariatising  of  missionary  work.  It  is  important  to  notice 
that  through  this  treatment  of  the  caste  question  the  ev^angelical 
churches  have,  for  the  present  and  for  a  considerable  time 
to  come,  lost  their  attraction  for  natives  of  the  higher 
caste,  who  may  have  felt  inclined  to  enter  into  member- 
ship with  them.  The  Sudra  knows  that  he  must  forfeit  his 
rank  and  social  position  when  he  becomes  a  Christian,  and 
although  it  is  a  wicked  exaggeration  to  tell  him  that  as  a 
Christian  he  will  become  a  Pariah  and  an  "outcaste,"  he  has 
nevertheless  to  step  out  of  the  old  order  of  society,  which  was 
dominated  in  every  direction  by  the  caste  system,  and  to  enter 
that  Christian  society  to  which  he  is  a  complete  stranger,  w^hich 
lies  entirely  outside  of  his  old  world,  and  whose  social  standing, 
whilst  it  has  been  slowly  raised  during  the  course  of  the  last 
century,  has  still  much  ground  to  make  up.  At  the  beginning  of 
the  nineteenth  century  this  abnormal  condition  of  things  existed 
in  the  Tamil  country :  that  when  any  one  became  a  Muham- 
madan  he  rose  considerably  in  the  social  scale,  and  attained 
a  respectable  standing  civilly ;  whereas  any  one  who  became  a 
Christian  sank  into  a  bottomless  abyss.  Only  gradually,  as  a 
result  of  their  increasing  spiritual  power,  their  prosperity,  and 
the  growing  reputation  of  missions,  has  the  social  position  of 
the  Christian  section  of  the  community  been  elevated.  The 
immediate  consequence  of  the  new  definite  caste  policy  was 
that  the  Sudra  classes  assumed  a  more  determined  attitude  of 
reserve  towards  missionary  work  than  they  had  done  in  the 
eighteenth  century.  Whereas  in  Schwartz's  time  the  Sudra 
Christians  were  in  the  majority  in  the  Church,  it  now  became  a 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  FROTESTANT  MISSIONS      173 

much  rarer  occurrence  for  a  Sudra  to  change  his  faith.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  Pariahs  gradually  waked  up  and  began  audibly  to 
knock  at  the  doors  of  the  Church  for  admission.  The  relations 
between  Sudras  and  Pariahs  in  the  evangelical  churches  have  in 
the  course  of  the  century  turned  more  and  more  to  the  disadvan- 
tage of  the  former,  and  at  the  present  time  the  Pariahs  tend  in 
ever  increasing  proportions  to  form  an  overwhelming  majority. 
The  change  in  caste  policy,  whilst  not  the  only  one,  has  yet 
been  a  very  powerful  factor  in  bringing  about  this  condition  of 
affairs.  \ 

It  must  notbesupposed,  however,  that  thdrejormed  missionary 
societies  have  been  in  favour  of  the  sternter  policy,  whilst  the 
Lutheran  societies  have  in  general  adopted  an  opposite  and 
more  tolerant  one,  nor  that  the  Anglo-American  missions  have 
declared  for  the  one  and  the  German  and  Continental  missions 
for  the  other.  It  would  be  far  nearer  the  mark  to  state  that  the 
Leipzig  Missionary  Society  stands  practically  alone  on  the  side 
of  a  sufferance  of  caste,  while  on  the  other  side  is  arrayed  the 
almost  unanimous  consensus  of  opinion  of  all  the  other  societies, 
and  it  is  just  such  German  societies  as  those  of  Basle  and  of 
Hermannsburg  and  such  Lutheran  societies  as  the  Danish  and 
those  of  the  General  Council  and  General  Synod,^  which  advocate 
the  standpoint  of  opposition  to  all  caste  with  the  greatest 
firmness. 

The  question  of  caste  was  the  cause  of  specially  painful 
events  on  the  occasion  of  the  founding  of  the  Leipzig  Mission 
in  South  India.  We  shall,  how^ever,  treat  of  those  disputes  to 
better  purpose  in  the  course  of  our  proposed  special  history  of 
Tamil  missions. 


2,  The  Age  of  Alexander  Duff  (1830- 1857) 

(a)  Alexander  Duff  and  his   Work 

The  second  period  of  missionary  work  in  India  is  best 
introduced  by  the  figure  of  Dr.  Alexander  Duff,  whose  far- 
reaching  labours  left  a  deeper  mark  upon  it  than  was  made  by 
any  other  missionary.  When  Dr.  Duff,  then  only  twenty-one 
years  old,  arrived  at  Calcutta  in  1830,  after  a  voyage  lasting 
seven  months,  and  interrupted  by  two  dangerous  shipwrecks, 
the  great  movement  which  had  been  produced  by  the  operations 

^  The  Hermannsburg  Missionary  Society  was  founded  by  the  Lutheran  pastor, 
Louis  Harms,  at  Hermannsburg,  in  the  province  of  Hanover.  The  General  Council 
and  General  Synod  are  two  Lutheran  Churches  in  the  United  States  of  America 
which  possess  missions  of  their  own  in  the  Telugu  country. 


174  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

of  the  Serampore  Trio  had  practically  come  to  a  standstill,  and 
though  there  still  remained  a  number  of  zealous  and  able  mission- 
aries in  Calcutta  and  the  neighbourhood,  neither  their  methods 
nor  the  success  they  met  with  commended  themselves  to  the  highly 
gifted  Scot.  He  at  once  got  the  impression  that  missionary 
work  had  so  to  speak  reached  a  cjU  de  sac  in  which  further 
progress  was  barred.  The  congregations  gathered  by  the 
preaching  of  the  missionaries  were  everywhere  small.  Further- 
more, it  was  a  veritable  disaster  that  the  only  candidates  for 
baptism  in  North  India  were,  with  few  exceptions,  poor  down- 
trodden individuals  belonging  to  the  lowest  castes,  and  that 
these  persons  henceforward  remained  pecuniarily  dependent  on 
the  missions  they  joined,  and  thus  made  no  advance  towards 
true  moral  or  religious  independence.  The  Christian  com- 
munity exercised  a  repellent  rather  than  an  attractive  influence 
upon  its  Hindu  neighbours,  and  was  more  of  a  hindrance  than  a 
help  to  missionary  progress.  Duff  therefore  asked  himself  the 
question,  "Is  there  then  no  possible  way  of  getting  into  touch 
with  the  influential  classes,  the  upper  castes  of  India?" 

In  the  years  immediately  preceding  Duffs  arrival  (i  824-1 826) 
missionary  circles  in  India  had  been  warmly  interested  in  a  big 
scheme,  which  had  been  drafted  in  South  India  by  two  very  keen 
but  not  very  wise  young  missionaries  of  the  London  Society, 
Drs.  Massie  and  Laidler.  They  wanted  to  found  in  Bangalore, 
a  high  and  healthy  station,  but  at  that  time  at  some  distance 
from  the  great  Indian  trade  routes,  an  "Anglo-Indian  Univer- 
sity," with  English  professors  to  give  instruction  in  all  the 
Western  sciences  and  learned  pundits  to  teach  Sanskrit  and 
Indian  subjects.  This  great  project,  which  had  not,  however, 
been  maturely  worked  out  either  from  a  technical  or  from  a 
missionary  standpoint,  had  failed  owing  to  the  opposition  of 
the  Directors  of  the  London  Missionary  Society  and  the 
inconsistency  of  its  promoters.  Duff's  homeland  had  been 
from  time  immemorial  the  El  Dorado  of  higher  education ; 
the  circles  in  which  he  and  his  friends  moved  had  always 
looked  upon  missions  as  a  kind  of  educational  work :  to  found 
schools  and  colleges  for  the  dissemination  of  Christian  culture 
in  India  had  been  the  purport  of  the  first  missionary  resolution 
of  the  Scotch  General  Assembly  in  1825.  Hence  Duff  firmly 
made  up  his  mind  within  a  few  weeks  of  his  arrival  in  India 
that  the  new  line  of  missionaiy  work  which  he  was  destined  to 
strike  out  was  to  bring  the  youth  of  India  under  Christian 
influences  by  means  of  schools.  Note  Avell,  his  idea  was  not 
schools  for  the  children  of  Christian  parents ;  the  duty  of 
educating  the  younger  generation  of  the  Christian  community 
in  the  spirit  of  Christ  has  ever  been  one  of  the  most  obvious 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  PROTESTANT  MISSIONS      175 

duties  of  Protestant  missions.  Duff's  plan  was  to  create 
schools  for  the  children  of  heathen  parents,  that  the  schools 
themselves  might  be  the  instruments  of  pioneer  missionary- 
work.  In  this  way  he  hoped  to  gain  three  ends.  Education, 
and  particularly  higher  education,  is  in  the  civilised  lands  of 
the  East  a  prerogative  of  the  highest  classes.  If  Duff  could 
succeed  in  making  his  schools  popular,  he  would  thereby  gain 
entrance  to  the  first  circles  of  society  in  the'  country — and  that 
seemed  to  him  desirable,  not  only  because  all  the  methods 
hitherto  adopted  by  the  different  missions  had  failed  to  gain 
such  access,  but  also  those  very  classes  were  in  India  the 
privileged  leaders  of  society,  the  sole  possessors  of  higher 
culture  and  of  an  already  developed  intellectual  life.  Secondly, 
he  could  confidently  expect  from  his  higher  education  the  wide 
dissemination  of  a  general  knowledge  of  Christianity  and 
Christian  views  of  life.  Christianity  would  become  a  centre 
of  public  interest,  and,  at  the  same  time,  a  matter  of  universal 
concern  ;  in  this  way  it  would  prove  itself  the  mightiest  spiritual 
force  in  existence,  and  capable  of  entering  into  ghostly  conflict 
with  the  ancient  Indian  spirit  world  and  its  ideals.  Thirdly, 
Duff  expected  with  believing  faith  that  from  his  schools  there 
would  grow  up,  if  not  a  numerous,  yet  for  that  very  reason  a 
more  brilliant,  body  of  truly  converted  young  men,  all  of  them 
belonging  to  the  very  best  families  and  equipped  with  a  complete 
Western  and  Christian  education.  A  contingent  of  Christians 
of  this  calibre  seemed  to  him  the  more  "  devoutly  to  be  wished  " 
because  of  the  humble  origin  of  the  majority  of  Christians  of 
that  time. 

But  how  was  Duff  to  make  specifically  Christian  schools 
aiming  at  such  high  missionary  goals  so  popular  that  the 
elite  of  the  youth  of  India  should  flock  thither,  so  popular  that 
they  should  become  a  great  power  in  the  life  of  the  heathen 
masses  ?  The  high  schools  of  the  Brahmans  and  Muhammadans 
were  on  the  decline  during  the  first  thirty  years  of  the  last 
century,  and  the  tols,  or  Brahmanical  seminaries,  at  Benares, 
Ajodhya,  and  Nuddea  retained  hardly  a  gleam  of  their  old 
splendour,  and  could  only  point  to  a  very  small  number  of 
Sanskrit-speaking  teachers  and  scholars.  British  administra- 
tion had  at  first,  in  conformity  with  the  views  still  prevalent 
in  England,  left  educational  matters  entirely  outside  its 
purview.  When,  towards  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century, 
it  began  to  concern  itself  in  the  matter,  it  saw  in  this  neutral 
and,  as  far  as  it  was  concerned,  indifferent  ground  a  suitable 
sphere  for  the  performance  of  small  favours  towards  the  subject 
peoples.  Thus  in  1781  a  "  madrissa,"  or  College,  was  built  for  the 
Muhammadans  of  Calcutta;  in  1791   a  Sanskrit  College  was 


176  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

founded  at  Benares;  in  1824  a  College  for  Hindus  was  taken 
over  (which  had  been  erected  in  Calcutta  by  private  subscription 
in  1 8 17).  At  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century  traces  of 
definite  principle  first  found  their  way  into  the  Government's 
education  policy.  At  that  time  the  marvellous  faery  world  of 
the  Orient  was  opening  up  to  scholars,  and  the  magnificent 
Sanskrit  language  and  the  rich  Sanskrit  literature  was  being 
unlocked  to  mankind.  Orientalists  were  enchanted  with  this 
new  domain.  It  seemed  to  them  in  the  highest  degree  desirable 
that  their  discovery  of  this  old  world  of  culture  should  produce 
in  India  an  intellectual  Renaissance.  The  large  sums  of  money 
which  the  Charter  of  181 3  placed  at  their  disposal  for  scientific 
and  scholastic  purposes  they  spent  solely  in  the  pursuit  of  such 
old  classical  studies.  In  the  newly  founded  School  of  Medicine 
at  Calcutta  the  Sanskrit  treatises  of  Charaka  and  Susruta  were 
studied,  in  the  Muhammadan  "madrissa"  the  medical  writings 
of  Avicenna,  and  from  these  long-forgotten  and  out-dated  works 
costly  school  editions  were  prepared.  The  enthusiasts  for 
things  Oriental  possessed  the  ear  of  the  Government,  at  whose 
cost  alone  they  were  able  to  carry  on  this  original  research. 

Along  with  these  one-sided  antiquarians,  a  second  and  more 
modest  movement  could  be  discerned,  that  of  the  vernacularists. 
They  emphasised  the  claims  of  the  living  languages  of  the 
country,  and  strove  to  assert  their  right  to  serve  as  the  bases  of  all 
educational  training.  The  missionaries  were  the  first  to  learn 
the  various  vernaculars,  in  many  cases  the  first  to  reduce  them 
to  writing  and  to  lay  the  foundations  of  a  future  literature. 
They  were  one  and  all  predisposed  to  favour  the  vernacular, 
which  was  indispensable  at  every  turn  in  missionary  work. 
But  the  statesmen  of  India  too,  in  the  midst  of  this  Babel  of 
tongues,  felt  the  urgent  necessity  of  making  one  language  the 
language  of  the  Government,  and  establishing  it  as  the  lingua 
franca  of  their  domain.  Taking  example  by  the  Muhammadans, 
who  for  four  hundred  years  had  made  Hindustani  or  Urdu  the 
language  of  the  State  and  of  the  Bench,  they  did  not  hesitate  to 
follow  in  the  footsteps  of  their  predecessors.  They  specially 
favoured  the  Persian  tongue,  as  being  a  supposedly  more  elegant 
if  more  noble  language  for  courts  of  justice — in  this  again 
resembling  their  Moghul  predecessors.  They  found  themselves, 
however,  confronted  with  the  great  question  as  to  whether  they, 
the  English  lords  of  the  land,  should  also  learn  Urdu,  speak 
Urdu,  and  write  Urdu — much  as  the  Dutch  in  the  Indian 
Archipelago  had  made  the  Malay  tongue  the  organ  of  their 
official  proceedings.  Englishmen  have  never  had  either  a  great 
liking  or  an  innate  talent  for  learning  foreign  languages.  They 
are  born  into  the  world  with  the  idea  that  English  is  the  tongue 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  PROTESTAxNT  MISSIONS      177 

of  universal  culture  and  that  every  other,  especially  every 
Indian  dialect,  is  inferior  to  it;  so  that  whilst  one  may  out  of 
condescension  or  for  political  purposes  make  use  of  them,  it 
would  be  quite  below  their  dignity  to  use  them  in  ordinary 
conversation.  This  idea  prevented  the  vernacularists  from 
gaining  their  point.  To  give  the  Hindus  a  solid  education  in 
the  vernacular  just  for  the  sake  of  the  training  and  the  intel- 
lectual uplifting  of  the  natives  was  an  idea  which  never  presented 
itself  to  their  English  lords,  and  the  latter  cleared  themselves  in 
their  own  eyes  by  declaring  that  the  modern  languages  of  India 
were  in  such  a  state  of  confusion  that  not  one  of  them  could  be 
regarded  as  a  fit  instrument  for  imparting  higher  education  ; 
they  must  attain  a  certain  degree  of  maturity  and  intellectual 
capacity  before  they  could  be  the  agents  for  the  culture  of  the 
Christian  West. 

It  was  here  that  Duff  struck  out  in  an  entirely  new  direction. 
In  direct  opposition  to  public  opinion,  and  even  to  the  painful 
surprise  of  other  Bengal  missionaries — with  the  exception  of  the 
aged  Carey — he  resolved  to  make  the  English  language  the  vehicle 
for  the  new  civilisation  and  culture.  Duff  was  of  Gaelic  descent; 
he  was  guided  by  the  experience  of  his  own  more  limited  father- 
land :  just  as  the  Gaelic-speaking  country  population  of  Scotland 
is  linked  by  means  of  the  English  language  with  the  great  civilised 
world  and  is  permanently  influenced  by  it,  so  English  was  to  be 
to  Bengal,  to  all  India,  the  channel  for  the  Christian  learning  of 
the  Western  world.  Duff  expected  that  the  people  of  India 
would  be  vitalised  by  the  powerful  stream  of  this  new  learning, 
communicated  to  them  by  means  of  the  English  language,  to 
the  same  extent  that  his  own  fellow-countrymen  had  ever  been. 
He  determined  further  that,  as  it  was  beyond  doubt  that  the 
English  would  retain  their  own  language,  it  would  be  absolutely 
necessary  for  the  Indians  to  learn  English.  The  knowledge  of 
English,  which  would  slowly  work  its  way  farther  and  farther 
afield,  would  have  to  be  peremptorily  demanded  from  all  who 
were  in  the  employ  of  the  Government.  To  make  English  the 
language  of  universal  trade  was  undoubtedly  the  aim  of  the 
English  commercial  world.  The  thorough  cultivation  of  English 
in  India  must  therefore  have  a  great  future.  The  only  question 
was  whether  those  castes  and  classes  of  India  which  had 
hitherto  given  the  lead  in  matters  intellectual  would  hold 
themselves  coldly  aloof  from  English,  or  whether  for  the  sake 
of  the  ever  increasing  material  advantages  which  would  accrue 
from  a  knowledge  of  it,  they  would  welcome  it.  For  this  reason 
it  was  of  importance  that  Duff  should  make  his  experiment  in 
Calcutta,  the  intellectual  centre  of  the  most  intelligent  and 
susceptible  race  in  India.     Here  he  met  with  such  unqualified 


t;^  HISTORY  OF  LNDIAN  MISSIONS 

success  within  a  very  few  years  that  his  example  became 
of  the  most  radical  importance  in  the  later  development  of  the 
Indian  educational  system. 

Duff  opened  his  new  school  on  July  13th,  1830.  Ram  Mohan 
Roy,  the  founder  of  the  Brahmo  Samaj,  and  perhaps  the  only 
Hindu  of  that  day  who  had  obtained  a  thorough  English 
education,  and  who  had  thereby  been  brought  so  much  the 
nearer  to  Christianity,  was  his  helper  in  the  bold  undertaking. 
The  attempt  succeeded  beyond  all  expectation.  It  was  demon- 
strated that  there  existed  a  simply  insatiable  hunger  for  a 
knowledge  of  English  amongst  the  younger  generation  of  the 
better  classes  in  Calcutta,  When  at  the  end  of  the  first  school 
year  Duff  showed,  by  means  of  a  public  examination,  what 
progress  the  students  had  made  in  that  short  space  of  time, 
public  opinion  veered  completely  round  in  his  favour.  At  the 
same  time  Duff  gave  the  Bible  and  Christian  teaching  such  a 
peculiar  and  commanding  place  in  his  school  programme  that 
ere  long  permanently  Christian  influences  were  radiating  from 
his  highly  spiritual  personality.  As  soon  as  this  became 
apparent,  through  the  frank  testimony  of  the  scholars,  through 
their  conversion  or  especially  through  their  baptism,  a  rumour 
of  it  was  quickly  spread  through  Calcutta,  and  the  cry  went 
up,  "  Hinduism  is  in  danger."  Then  Duff's  school  was  emptied 
at  one  stroke,  and  writ  large  in  the  Hindu  newspapers  appeared 
the  menace,  "  Whoever  sends  his  children  to  this  school  will  be 
driven  out  of  his  caste."  Yet  before  a  week  had  gone  by  the 
school  was  again  filled  to  the  very  last  place !  With  a  few 
interruptions  Duff  remained  in  Calcutta  nearly  a  third  of  a 
century  (1830-35,  1839-50,  1856-63).  (Of  his  profoundly 
stirring  pioneer  work  in  the  development  of  a  missionary  spirit 
in  Scotland  we  cannot  here  give  any  account.)  He  thus  had 
time  to  thoroughly  work  out  his  educational  plans,  and  when 
compelled  to  give  up  his  first  missionary  premises  to  the 
Established  Church  in  consequence  of  the  Disruption  in  the 
Scottish  Church  (1843)  ^^^d  his  own  adhesion  to  the  recently 
established  Free  Church,  he  was  able  to  found  in  Neemtola 
Street,  Calcutta,  another  imposing  institution. 

We  cannot  follow  up  Duff's  labours  in  detail ;  it  is  more 
important  for  us  to  review  the  effects  produced  by  them. 
These  are,  in  the  main,  four.  The  inrush  of  Western  culture 
into  India  had  the  immediate  result  of  shattering  of  the 
Hindu  conceptions  of  life,  and  turning  into  objects  of  ridicule 
its  curious  ideas  of  the  world  and  the  elementary  forces  of 
nature.  So  far  as  Western  science  had  up  to  that  time  been 
taught,  as  for  instance  at  the  already  mentioned  Hindu  College, 
or  through  the  writings  of  English  deists  and  atheists  brought 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  PROTESTANT  MISSIONS      179 

into  the  country  by  unscrupulous  booksellers,  it  had  conducted 
the  Hindu,  thirsty  for  knowledge  but  without  judgment,  into 
paths  of  unbelief  and  materialism.  It  was  the  merit  of  Duff 
and  those  who  soon  rallied  to  his  side  that  they  proved 
before  the  eyes  of  all  India,  convincingly  and  with  great  force 
of  intellect,  that  the  West  had  not  only  this  barren  materialism 
to  offer  India,  but  rather  a  conception  of  life  resting  upon 
idealistic  principles,  and  finding  in  the  Bible  the  highest  truth 
and  the  noblest  morality.  Competent  witnesses  and  con- 
temporaries testify  to  the  fact  that  so  long  as  Duff  remained 
in  the  mission  field,  and  especially  up  to  the  Mutiny  in  1857, 
the  Christian  presentation  of  life  at  any  rate  held  its  own 
against  that  stream  of  non-religious  culture  which  was  then 
unfortunately  rushing  in  upon  India,  even  when  it  did  not 
completely  turn  it  back. 

Further,  Duff's  influence  was  of  great  importance  in  the 
after  development  of  the  Indian  school  system.  Nothing  but 
the  fact  that  such  a  far-seeing  man  as  Lord  Bentinck  was 
at  that  time  Governor-General,  and  that  his  chief  adviser  was 
the  pious  and  sensible  Sir  Chas.  Trevelyan,  enabled  Duff  to 
render  such  service  in  those  early  years.  Only  five  years  after 
his  school  had  been  opened,  Duff  had  the  triumph  of  seeing 
the  existing  educational  policy  of  the  administration  thrown 
to  the  winds,  and  a  new  policy  of  reform  based  on  his  own 
ideas  adopted. 

On  March  7th  of  that  year,  1835,  a  Minute  of  the  Govern- 
ment was  published,  according  to  which  it  became  the  aim  of 
the  Government  to  naturalise  European  literature  and  science 
in  India,  and  that  all  available  funds  should  be  used  solely  for 
the  fostering  of  English  culture  ;  the  schools  which  had  hitherto 
been  supported,  or  partially  supported  by  the  Government,  and 
which  the  antiquarian  hobbies  of  the  Orientalists  had  artfully 
kept  open,  should  one  by  one  drop  out.  Also  the  School  of 
Medicine  established  in  Calcutta  in  1822,  which  had  up  to  the 
present  tormented  itself  with  the  old  Sanskrit  text-books,  was 
closed,  and  in  1835  replaced  by  a  Medical  College  on  European 
lines,  in  which  the  dissection  of  the  bodies  of  both  men  and 
animals,  so  abhorrent  to  the  Brahmans,  became  one  of  the  most 
carefully  fostered  branches  of  science. 

That  was  the  first  definite  step  taken  by  the  English 
Government  along  the  new  path  marked  out  by  Duff.  It  was 
but  a  case  of  cause  and  effect  when  nine  years  later  the  Governor- 
General,  Sir  H.  Hardinge,  published  a  further  order  (October 
1844)  to  the  effect  that,  as  education  in  English  had  made 
such  great  progress  in  Bengal  since  the  Minute  of  1835,  the 
entire  Indian  civil  service  (with  the  exception  of  the  750  highest 


i8o  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

positions  or  thereabouts,  the  so-called  "  covenanted  service,"  in 
which  monster  salaries  were  obtained  and  which  the  English 
reserved  for  themselves)  was  to  be  thrown  open  to  English- 
speaking  Indians  without  distinction  of  race  or  creed,  and  at 
the  commencement  of  each  year  the  Government  schools  and 
the  mission  schools  were  to  furnish  a  list  of  those  persons 
eligible  to  enter  the  service  of  the  State.  Even  in  the  lowest 
posts  a  candidate  who  could  read  and  write  was  to  be  chosen 
in  preference  to  an  illiterate.  Of  course,  between  the  publica- 
tion of  such  a  philanthropic  Minute  and  its  being  regularly 
carried  out  was  a  far  cry.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  until  the 
revolt  of  1857  all  the  higher  offices  and  posts  both  in  the 
civil  and  military  services  remained  closed  to  natives,  and  still 
more  so  to  Christians ;  and  discontent  at  this  retrogressive 
policy  was  one  of  the  leading  reasons  for  the  ever  growing 
unrest.  That  such  a  decree  should  be  enforced  had  also  been 
one  of  the  demands  on  the  occasion  of  the  renewal  of  the 
Charter  in  1833 — unfortunately,  in  vain. 

Also  in  connection  with  the  second  definite  move  in  the 
new  Indian  educational  policy,  the  famous  "  Educational 
Dispatch  "of  Sir  Chas.  Wood  (later  Lord  Halifax)  on  July  19th, 
1854,^  Duff  exercised,  along  with  his  distinguished  friend  Sir 
Chas.  Trevelyan,  a  definite  influence.  When  the  protracted 
and  complicated  negotiations  anterior  to  the  last  renewal  of  the 
East  India  Charter  were  going  on  in  1852,  Duff  was  in  England, 
and  he  was  accepted,  even  in  Government  circles,  as  a  supreme 
authority  on  Indian  affairs.  Frequently  consulted  upon  this 
question,  he  threw  the  whole  weight  of  his  personality  into  the 
balance  in  order  that  this  Magna  Charta  of  Indian  education 
might  pass  into  law.  The  Dispatch  brought  with  it  a  necessity 
for  the  most  far-reaching  reorganisation.  To  begin  with,  in 
each  of  the  Indian  Presidencies  a  "  Department  of  Public  Instruc- 
tion "  was  formed  with  control  over  the  whole  of  the  educa- 
tional system  of  that  particular  Presidency.  Then  three  Indian 
Universities  were  created  on  the  model  of  the  University  of 
London,  i.c.  simply  as  centres  of  intellectual  life  and  as  exam- 
ining bodies.  These  were  erected  at  Calcutta,  Bombay,  and 
Madras  in  1857 — a  fourth  University  was  founded  at  Lahore  in 
1882  for  the  Punjab,  and  a  fifth  for  the  United  Provinces  at 
Allahabad  in  the  year  1887.  To  these  Universities  all  colleges 
and  high  schools  were  to  be  affiliated,  in  order  to  obtain  for  their 
students  rights  of  entrance  to  the  higher  or  lower  branches  of 
the  Civil  Service,  and  permission  to  take  the  necessary  examina- 
tions.   Thirdly,  a  most  elaborate  system  of  support  for  the  whole 

^  It  comprises  eighteen  folio  pages  in  the  Blue  Book  ;  it  was  drafted  by  a  future 
Viceroy  of  India,  Lord  Northbrook. 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  PROTESTANT  MISSIONS      i8i 

of  education  was  inaugurated,  the  so-called  "  grant-in-aid " 
system ;  that  is,  the  Government  declared  its  readiness  to 
support  according  to  a  fixed  scale  any  school,  no  matter  by 
whom  established  or  how  directed,  providing  it  complied  with 
certain  conditions  as  to  school  premises  and  teaching  staff,  and  as 
to  a  certain  amount  of  instruction  in  prescribed  subjects,  religion 
alone    excepted.^      The    Government    therewith    declared    its 

^  The  Indian  educational  system,  as  developed  under  this  system  of  grants,  is  not 
homogeneous  in  the  spheres  of  the  five  Universities  ;  likewise  the  amount  of  the  grant 
and  the  designation  of  the  different  grades  varies,  and  there  are  many  deviations  both 
in  the  mode  of  teaching  and  in  the  ideals  aimed  at  by  the  teaching.  The  school 
system  of  the  Madras  Presidency  may  serve  as  a  paradigm.  We  must  say  a  few 
words  about  this,  because  in  the  reports  of  Indian  mission  schools  there  occur 
certain  technical  expressions  which  are  only  to  be  understood  in  this  connection. 
The  idea  of  the  school  unit  lies  at  the  basis  of  the  whole  educational  structure.  In 
Bengal  it  is  the  more  advanced  school  which  is  the  unit,  in  South  India  the  lower- 
class  school,  in  other  provinces  combinations  of  both.  The  whole  school-ladder 
mounts  by  fourteen  grades,  most  of  which  are  courses  of  one  year's  duration.  The 
first  four  correspond  to  the  classes  of  elementary  schools,  the  next  six  to  those  of 
English  grammar  schools,  and  the  last  four  are  the  classes  for  University  examina- 
tions. Within  such  limits  the  four  lowest  classes  are  reckoned  as  Standards  I.  to  IV., 
the  next,  the  middle  classes,  are  termed  Forms  I.,  II.,  and  III.,  or  Standards  V,  to  VII. 
The  elementary  classes  taken  as  a  whole  are  called  the  Primary  Department,  the 
three  lower  middle  classes  of  the  Lower  Secondary  or  Middle  Department  are  called 
the  "Middle  School,"  this  being  qualified  by  the  terms  "Middle  English"  or 
"  Middle  Vernacular,"  according  as  instruction  in  English  or  in  native  languages  is 
emphasised  in  the  curriculum.  The  three  upper  middle  classes  are  almost  universally 
named  the  "  High  School."  Of  the  four  academic  classes  the  two  first  prepare  for 
the  examination  termed  "First  in  Arts"  (F.A.),  the  two  others  for  the  "Bachelor 
of  Arts"  (B.A.) ;  as  a  rule,  the  actual  courses  of  instruction  cease  at  this  point.  But 
a  third  course  of  two  years'  duration  is  often  added,  in  preparation  for  the  highest 
academic  examination,  that  of  "  Master  of  Arts  "  (M.A. )  ;  this  final  course  is  mostly 
prepared  for  by  private  study,  but  in  Bengal  teaching  is  also  given  for  these  closing 
terms.  These  six  years  of  advanced  study  compose  the  "  College  "  in  the  technical 
sense  of  the  term,  and  are  the  completion  of  the  whole  educational  system.  Pro- 
motion from  one  grade  to  another,  i.e.  from  the  Primary  to  the  Middle  School,  from 
that  to  the  High  School,  and  from  that  again  to  the  College,  and  also  to  the  three 
degrees  (of  F.A.,  B.A.,  and  M.A.),  is  by  means  of  public  examinations.  These 
are  for  the  most  part  conducted  by  the  University,  and  are  nearly  all  written  and 
not  oral. 

In  order  to  assess  the  annual  grant,  and  to  supervise  the  carrying  out  of  the 
necessary  regulations,  a  Board  of  Education  is  established  in  each  province,  having 
at  its  head  a  "Director  of  Public  Instruction."  A  number  of  male  and  female 
inspectors  are  placed  under  the  direction  of  this  Board,  whose  duties  are  to  examine 
every  school  and  every  class  annually  in  order  to  be  able  to  determine  the  grant, 
having  due  regard  to  the  number  of  scholars  and  the  standard  of  their  attainments. 
The  examinations  for  promotion  conducted  by  the  University  and  those  for  the 
apportioning  of  grants  held  by  the  inspectors  of  schools  are  carried  on  side  by  side 
but  independently. 

The  qualifications  for  liigher  and  lower  positions  in  the  Civil  Service,  for  entrance 
to  Government  colleges  for  special  branches  of  study,  to  the  Teachers'  Training 
Colleges,  etc.,  differ  in  the  various  provinces,  but  they  always  depend  closely  upon 
the  above-mentioned  examinations.  Just  as  here  in  Germany  the  "  Einjahrigen  " 
and  "  Abiturienten  "  examinations  (Translator's  Note. — The  "  Einjahrigen  "  examina- 
tion excuses  one  year's  military  service,  the  "Abiturienten"  is  the  "Leaving 
Certificate  "  of  a  Gymnasium)  confer  status  and  open  up  the  way  for  those  who  have 
passed  them,  so  in  India  do  all  these  examinations  conducted  by  the  Universities ; 
the  gap  between  the  Primary  and  the  Secondary  grades  is  even  bridged  over  by 


1 82  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

resolve  to  withdraw  from  direct  participation  in  higher  educa- 
tion, to  let  its  more  advanced  public  schools  gradually  drop 
out  of  existence,  and  to  place  the  high  schools  in  the  hands  of 
State-aided  societies  and  public  bodies — amongst  which  the 
missionary  societies  took  a  leading  position. 

Finally,  the  Government  declared  its  readiness  and  its 
determination  to  found  model  schools  in  each  district,  and  more 
especially  to  found  colleges  for  special  branches  of  study,  such 
as  law,  medicine,  art,  etc.  Duffs  biographer,  George  Smith, 
says  truly  that  had  Duff  done  nothing  more  than  influence  and 
shape  according  to  his  mind  Indian  legislation  on  behalf  of 
schools,  from  the  time  of  Lord  Bentinck  down  to  this  Educational 
Dispatch,  that  alone  would  have  sufficed  to  procure  him  the 
lasting  indebtedness  of  India  (G.  Smith,  Life  of  Alexander  Duff, 
4th  edit.  p.  266), 

The  Educational  Dispatch,  and  especially  the  grant-in-aid 
system,  became  of  cardinal  importance  to  Indian  education,  and 
can  only  be  described  as  a  stroke  of  genius.  It  united  the 
slumbering  powers  of  missions,  communities,  Indian  princes  and 
private  individuals  in  the  common  task  of  instructing  the  people, 
and  made  it  possible  for  the  Government  to  exercise  such  a 
measure  of  supervision  over  their  efforts  as  was  necessary  at  the 
initiation  of  so  novel  a  regime.  As  the  zeal  for  knowledge  in- 
creased among  the  Indian  people  it  allowed  of  a  wide  extension 
of  the  school  system  even  to  the  remotest  districts,  without 
involving  the  Government  in  any  further  educational  responsi- 
bilities than  the  appointment  of  a  few  more  inspectors  of 
schools.  And  by  means  of  scholarships  judiciously  awarded  it 
became  possible  to  stimulate  the  scholars'  desire  for  learning 
and  also  to  open  up  a  way  by  which  a  poor  man's  children 
might  enjoy  a  University  education.  For  missions  too  this 
grant-in-aid  system  was  of  great  importance.  Whereas  formerly, 
in  spite  of  the  benevolent  decrees  of  a  Bentinck  or  a  Hardinge, 
the  Government  had  been  loth  to  grant  financial  aid  to  mission 
schools,  missions  now  had  the  additional  claim  of  a  legal  right.^ 
And  as  missionaries  like  Dr.  Duff  had  had  a  distinct  influence 
in  the  shaping  of  the  famous  Dispatch,  it  was  perfectly  clear 
that  the  main  tendency  of  the  new  grant-in-aid  system  was  to 
encourage  the  various  missions  to  engage  in  the  very  congenial 

them.  This  system  of  the  educational  ladder  plays  an  important  part  in  the  modern 
life  of  the  lower  classes  of  India. 

^  The  very  smallest  amount  of  money  possible  had  been  hitherto  spent  for  educa- 
tional purposes,  and  of  the  few  funds  available  for  the  purpose  the  missionary 
societies  received  nothing.  Furthermore  the  Court  of  Directors  immediately  sought 
to  annul  the  clauses  which  worked  so  very  favourably  towards  missions,  by  enacting 
that  missionary  schools  should  receive  no  grant.  Their  rule,  however,  came  to  an 
end  in  1857,  and  Sir  Chas.  Wood's  Educational  Dispatch  remained. 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  PROTESTANT  MISSIONS      183 

work  of  elementary  education  to  a  larger  extent  than  ever 
before.^ 

There  still  remain  two  directions  in  which  we  must  trace 
the  profound  influence  of  Duff's  life-work.  His  example  incited 
very  many  to  tread  in  his  steps  ;  the  way  he  had  taken  was 
trodden,  with  varied  success  but  to  an  ever  increasing  extent, 
both  by  other  missionaries  of  his  own  Church  and  also  by  other 
missionary  societies.  Duff  has  for  ever  secured  a  place  for  the 
mission  school  among  the  missionary  methods  of  India. 

Especially  did  Duff,  one  of  its  first  and  most  renowned 
missionaries,  imprint  his  personality  on  the  missions  of  the  Free 
Church  of  Scotland;  even  to-day  in  India  that  Church  is  the 
"  educational "  mission  par  excellaice.  The  most  splendid 
memorial  of  Duff's  sojourn  in  India,  and  especially  of  the 
period  before  1857,  is  his  brilliant  development  of  the  mission 
school  system:  the  quarter-century  1830-1857  is  the  age  of 
the  mission  school.  During  that  period  the  Government — in 
spite  of  the  good  intentions  of  Bentinck — lay  really  in  an 
apathy  which  we  find  it  hard  to  understand ;  for  three  years 
Lord  Ellenborough  was  Governor-General,  a  man  who  regarded 
the  political  ruin  of  the  English  power  as  the  inevitable 
consequence  of  the  education  of  the  Hindus  !  Hence  at  that 
time  the  mission  school  exercised  a  dominating  influence  over 
Indian  thought  which  it  is  difficult  to  estimate  nowadays.  In 
Bombay  Dr.  John  Wilson  (after  Duff  the  most  brilliant  Scotch 
missionary  of  the  day)  founded  the  magnificent  College  which 
afterwards  bore  his  name.  At  Madras  Anderson  and  Braid- 
wood  opened  the  General  Assembly's  School  in  1837,  which,  under 
the  genial  direction  of  Dr.  Miller,  the  most  famous  educational 
missionary  alive,  has  become  the  "  Christian  College."  At 
Nagpur,   in    Central    India,   Stephen    Hislop   opened   in    1844 

^  The  Government  had  hitherto  neglected  elementary  education  in  a  most  irre- 
sponsible way.  In  1834  Lord  W.  Bentinck  had  set  on  foot  a  general  inquiry  in 
Bengal,  in  order  to  ascertain  what  was  being  done  in  this  direction  ;  the  result  was 
that  more  than  ninety-two  per  cent,  of  the  population  which  was  of  an  age  to  attend 
school  never  set  foot  therein.  And  this  report  had  been  accepted  without  demur  ! 
However  inadequate  mission  schools  were  even  in  1852,  on  account  of  the 
relatively  small  dimensions  of  missionary  work,  they  at  any  rate  contained  four  times 
as  many  children  as  the  Government  schools.  All  the  Government  schools  together 
had  only  twelve  thousand  scholars  in  1854  !  The  devout  Lieutenant-Governor  of  the 
United  Provinces,  James  Thomason  (from  1844)  was  the  first  to  found  elementary 
schools  on  any  systematic  plan.  He  has  been  called,  with  a  shade  of  exaggeration,  the 
"  Father  of  Elementary  Education  in  India  "  !  He  endeavoured  whenever  possible  to 
work  in  close  connection  with  the  already  existing  village  schools  (Patashala).  Duff 
and  his  friends  would  like  to  have  seen  the  Dispatch  definitely  declare  the  Bible  to  be  a 
text-book  in  every  Government  school.  They  were  only  able,  however,  to  get  the 
hitherto  partially  prevailing  custom  made  into  an  order,  that  a  copy  of  the  Bible  be 
placed  in  every  school  library,  and  that  every  teacher  should  have  the  right  to  read 
it  out  of  the  regular  school-hours  with  any  pupil  who  should  express  a  desire  for  such 
instruction. 


1 84  HISTORY   OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

the  fourth  of  his  Society's  colleges.  In  1853  the  Church 
Missionary  Society  founded  St.  John's  College  at  Agra,  the 
first  principal  of  which  was  the  future  Bishop  French;  in  1841 
Robert  Noble  opened  the  "  Noble "  College  at  Masulipatam. 
These  were  the  most  famous  of  the  colleges  which  were  erected 
in  rapid  succession  in  the  most  widely  separated  parts  of  the 
country  under  the  direct  influence  and  inspiration  of  Duff,  to 
say  nothing  of  other  colleges  like  those  built  at  Calcutta, 
Madras,  and  Bombay  by  the  National  Church  of  Scotland 
after  the  Disruption. 

Especially  dear  to  Dr.  Duff's  heart  were  the  direct  results  of 
his  own  educational  work,  the  conversion  of  young  men  of 
brilliant  gifts,  wide  scholarship,  and  unmistakable  religious 
sincerity,  from  the  highest  classes  of  Hindu  society.  Such  cases 
did  not  abound.  Duff's  biographer,  taking  converted  families 
as  his  unit,  only  mentions  twenty-six  of  them.  But  what 
remarkable  personalities,  what  pillars  in  the  Indian  Church,  are 
included  in  that  small  number!  Krishna  Mohan  Banerjea, 
Gopinath  Nundy,  Mohesh  Chunder  Ghose,  Anando  Chunder 
Mozumdar,  and  Lai  Behari  Day  are  the  glittering  stars  in  the 
firmament  of  the  Indian  Christian  world.  It  was  something 
wholly  new  for  North  India  no  longerto  see  orphan  children  picked 
up  anywhere,  outcastes,  beggars  and  cripples  becoming  members 
of  the  Christian  Church,  but  in  their  stead  scions  of  the  noblest 
houses.  Almost  all  the  aristocratic  families  of  Calcutta  were 
represented  amongst  the  converts,  the  Mukerjeas,  Banerjeas 
and  Chakarbuttys,  the  Ghoses,  Mozumdars  and  Dutts,  the 
Sirkars,  the  Naths,  the  Gangulis.  The  present  writer,  whilst  at 
Calcutta,  had  an  opportunity  of  conversing  with  several  members 
of  these  distinguished  families,  both  Christian  and  heathen, 
concerning  the  marvellous  period  of  Duff's  activity.  They 
were  unanimous  in  asserting  it  to  be  a  time  wholly  unique ; 
they  stated  that  in  the  highest  circles  Christianity  became  the 
subject  of  the  most  animated  and  most  interested  discussion ; 
that  every  family  had  had  to  face  the  conversion  of  its  most 
able  and  gifted  members ;  and  that  an  excitement  and  a  tremor 
swept  through  Hindu  society  such  as  had  never  been  experi- 
enced before — nor  since.  Conversions  of  persons  of  the  highest 
rank  were  not  limited  to  Duff's  College  at  Calcutta.  At 
Masulipatam,  Ainala  Bushanam,  Manchala  Ratnam  and  Jani 
Ali  gave  up  heathenism  for  Christianity ;  at  Agra,  Tara  Chand 
and  Madho  Ram  ;  at  Bombay,  the  Parsi  Dhanjibhai  Naoroji 
and  others.  From  that  time  converts  from  the  highest  classes 
of  the  people  have  been  an  important  element  in  Indian 
Christendom, 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  PROTESTANT  MISSIONS      185 

(b)  TJic  Patrojiage  of  Heathenism — Lord  Bentinck's  Reforms  ^ 

According  to  its  professed  policy,  the  Company  represented 
the  principle  of  the  strictest  religious  neutrality.  It  piqued 
itself  not  a  little  thereupon,  and  was  never  tired  of  calling 
attention  to  this  excellent  and  only  suitable  "  traditional " 
policy.  But  from  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century  we 
can  trace  a  most  lamentable  departure  from  principle,  a  depart- 
ure which  became  more  serious  as  every  decade  passed  by,  and 
which  led  the  Company  on  the  one  hand  into  an  unbounded 
favouritism  towards  the  native  religions,  and  on  the  other  into 
an  unjust  slighting  of  Christianity.  The  most  scandalous 
form  under  which  this  "universal  support"  of  Indian  idolatry 
made  its  appearance  was  the  Pilgrim  Tax.  When  the  English 
took  possession  of  Orissa  in  1803,  the  dusky  blue  god  of  Puri, 
Jagannath  (Lord  of  the  World),  declared  his  wish — bribery 
of  the  Temple  Brahmans  was  successful  in  making  the  oracle 
speak — to  be  taken  henceforth  under  the  protection  of  the 
English.  The  Company  accepted  most  readily  the  patronage 
of  the  famous  shrine  and  the  extensive  lands  which  appertained 
thereto.  Soon  orders  arrived  from  London  to  reimpose  and 
levy  on  behalf  of  the  Company  the  Pilgrim  Tax  formerly  taken 
by  the  Muhammadans,  when  they  were  rulers  of  the  land. 
Marquis  Wellesley,  at  that  time  Governor-General,  refused  to 
execute  this  order,  but  in  1806  his  weak-minded  successor. 
Barlow,  placed  all  the  temple  property  at  Puri  under  British 
management,  and  levied  the  Pilgrim  Taxes  relentlessly. 
The  Government  undertook  in  return  to  maintain  the  temple 
buildings,  to  pay  the  priests,  and  to  provide  for  the  regular 
celebration  of  the  temple  worship.  They  made  a  good 
thing  out  of  it,  for  in  the  first  year  their  net  profits  amounted 
to  over  135,000  rupees.  But  how  were  missionaries  to  reply  to 
the  reproaches  of  the  heathen,  when  the  latter  asked,  "  If 
Jagannath  be  nothing,  why  does  the  Company  receive  so  many 
rupees  from  him?"  or  "If  your  religion  were  true,  your 
Government  would  support  it,  but  that  it  does  not  do,  on  the 
contrary  it  supports  our  idols."  Gaya  in  Bihar,  a  spot  far 
famed  since  the  days  of  Buddha,  and  one  which  since  the 
Brahmanical  restoration  had  become  almost  as  famous  a  shrine 
for  the  Hindus  as  for  the  Buddhists,  offered  a  new  source 
of  income :  Pilgrim  Taxes  were  likewise  instituted  there,  and 
levied  with  the  same  painful  regularity.  Here  the  Company 
had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  a  marked  increase  in  the  number 
of  pilgrims  directly  the  English  Pilgrim  Taxes  were  introduced  ; 
from  21,000  it  rose  to  over  100,000,  and  the  profit  in  good  years 
^  Cf,  Basle  Missionary  Magazine,  185S,  p.  259, 


1 86  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

ran  to  between  250,000  and  300,000  rupees.  The  flattering 
success  of  the  taxes  at  these  two  famous  shrines  induced  the 
Company  to  introduce  this  heathen  poll-tax  at  yet  other 
shrines  and  temples  at  Allahabad,  at  Tirupati  in  the  Telugu 
country,  at  Kashipur,  Sarkara,  Sambal,  Hawa,  and  other 
places.  The  net  takings  of  these  Pilgrim  Taxes  amounted  on 
the  average  to  ;^7 5,000  and  upwards  per  annum.  To  under- 
stand, but  not  to  excuse,  these  proceedings  we  must  remember 
that  the  English  masters  of  the  country  now  found  themselves 
in  a  peculiar  and  difficult  position.  They  had  annexed  one 
state  after  another,  and  had  undertaken,  besides  the  mere 
government,  also  the  duties  which  had  devolved  upon  their 
predecessors.  Of  these  the  management  of  the  temples  and  of 
the  temple  property  was  one.  Of  course,  a  way  could  have 
been  found  out  of  the  difficulty  had  there  been  any  desire  for  it, 
but  the  will  was  lacking,  especially  in  view  of  the  great  profits 
which  were  realised  in  this  way. 

Soon  they  went  farther,  and  began  openly  to  support  the 
heathen  temples.  InConjeeveram,to  the  south-westof  Madras, the 
famous  temple  of  Siva,  one  of  the  most  beautiful  structures  in  the 
Tamil  country,  had  fallen  into  decay,  and  the  temple  Brahmans 
either  could  not  or  would  not  repair  it.  Thereupon  Place,  an 
English  official,  induced  the  Company  to  restore  the  temple,  at 
no  small  cost,  "  in  order  to  incite  the  natives  to  the  exercise  of 
virtue."  And  the  Christian  (!)  official  himself  offered  a  sacrifice 
to  the  temple  and  to  its  god  which  for  years  afterwards  was 
preserved  and  exhibited  as  a  curiosity.  When  once  a  beginning 
had  been  made  and  the  Government  had  openly  declared  itself 
to  be  a  patron  of  idol-worship,  there  was  no  stopping  its  further 
progress  in  this  direction.  Civil  and  military  officials  were  com- 
pelled to  honour  heathen  and  Muhammadan  festivals  with  their 
presence,  and  even  in  many  cases  to  present  the  sacrificial  gifts 
of  the  Government  to  the  Brahmans.  On  the  occasion  of  festive 
processions  the  idols  were  greeted  with  a  "  royal  salvo "  of 
cannon.  In  times  of  drought  the  Government  appointed  and 
paid  Brahmans  to  pray  for  rain.  When  the  clumsy  idol  cars 
were  brought  out,  thousands  of  pilgrims  were  driven  by  main 
force  into  harness  to  drag  them  along  like  brute  beasts.  For 
rebuilding,  restoration,  and  other  work  in  connection  with 
temples,  tens  of  thousands  of  rupees  were  disbursed,  and  the 
very  gastronomical  necessities  of  the  Brahmans  were  not  for- 
gotten. Even  pagan  festivals  which  had  dropped  into  oblivion 
were  revived,  and  all  sense  of  shame  was  lost.  The  manage- 
ment of  the  property  of  one  temple  after  another  was  taken 
over  by  the  Company ;  its  officials  were  then  responsible  for 
everything :  the  construction  of  new  idol  carts,  new  idols,  the 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  PROTESTANT  MISSIONS      187 

appointment  and  remuneration  of  the  Brahmans,  painters, 
musicians,  rice-boilers,  and  watchmen,  and  that  their  cup 
might  be  full,  even  the  temple  filles-de-joie,  the  Nautch  girls, 
received  their  pay  from  h^nglish  officials.  At  one  time  (in  1858), 
long  after  the  fight  against  this  entire  system  had  been  com- 
menced, 8292  idols  and  temples  in  the  Madras  Presidency 
received  annually  '^']6,'j'&o  rupees ;  in  the  Bombay  Presidency 
26,589  temples  and  idols  received  698,593  rupees,  and  in  the 
total  area  of  the  Company's  jurisdiction  1,715,586  rupees  were 
annually  spent  in  the  support  of  idolatry.^  At  Madras,  on  New 
Year's  Day,  at  the  Pongol  festival,  when  the  Hindu  worships  the 
tools  by  means  of  which  he  gains  a  livelihood,  the  account- 
books  and  official  documents  in  the  Government  offices,  as 
well  as  the  writing-desks,  inkpots  and  penholders,  were  solemnly 
worshipped  by  order  of  the  Government,  who  also  paid  for  the 
whole  being  carried  out  with  an  elaborate  ceremonial !  In 
many  cases  private  individuals  went  even  further,  they  erected 
temples  to  heathen  deities  and  endowed  them.  With  special 
frequency  did  this  happen  in  the  case  of  those  who  had  heathen 
mistresses,  to  please  whom  shrines  were  often  erected  within 
their  own  grounds. 

From  a  Company  which  so  continually  identified  itself  with 
Hinduism  in  the  most  obvious  and  deliberate  way,  little  else 
was  to  be  expected  than  that  the  spread  of  Christianity  would 
inconvenience  it  and  that  it  should  oppose  Christianity  by  all 
means  in  its  power.  No  Christians  were  allowed  in  the  ranks 
of  its  Hindu  officials ;  it  would  accept  any  and  every 
Muhammadan  or  Hindu,  but  a  native  Christian  was  a  de- 
spicable creature  to  be  looked  on  with  the  gravest  suspicion. 
When  in  18 16  British  rule  was  established  in  the  newly 
annexed  province  of  Mysore,  Christians  were  expressly 
debarred  from  the  courts  of  justice,  to  which  under  native 
rule    they    had    enjoyed    an    unquestioned    right    of    access. 

^  How  this  open  countenancing  of  Hinduism  was  looked  on  in  missionary  circles 
is  shown  by  an  assertion  made  by  the  then  President-General  of  the  Basle  Missionary 
Society.  "  Idol-worship  in  India  was  on  the  down  grade.  Many  temples  were  openly 
falling  into  decay,  the  temple  treasures  were  squandered  by  covetous  Brahmans,  and 
the  entire  idol  system  had  no  strength  to  raise  itself  up  again.  Its  dissolution  seemed 
impending.  Then  came  the  Government  and  rebuilt  the  temples,  took  over  the 
temple  property  and  saw  to  it  that  idol  festivals  and  processions  were  celebrated  with 
their  pristine  splendour.  The  whole  structure  of  Hinduism  put  on  a  new  dignity  and 
new  prestige,  so  that  in  the  eyes  of  the  people  it  appeared  to  be  as  it  were  born  again. 
Therefore  the  number  of  pilgrims,  in  spite  of  the  high  Pilgrim  Taxes,  increased  at 
famous  shrines  to  an  unbelievable  extent ;  the  Brahmans  came  to  be  regarded  as 
Government  officials,  and  the  natives  were  convinced  that,  betwixt  the  Hindu  religion 
and  that  of  the  Government,  no  difference  at  all  existed.  A  powerful  instrument  of 
proof  was  thus  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  Brahmans  themselves,  enabling  them  to 
justify  their  false  religion  in  the  eyes  of  the  deluded  populace"  {Basle  Miss.  I^Icn^., 
1858,  p.  346). 


1 88  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

Because  a  missionary  had  baptized  two  female  converts  in 
Bengal,  he  was  condemned  on  an  alleged  complaint  of  the 
god  Manu  "  because  he  had  made  the  women  shrewish  towards 
their  husbands " !  Happily  this  ridiculous  sentence  was  re- 
versed by  the  Supreme  Court  at  Calcutta  to  which  the  missionary 
appealed.  A  long  time  after  Lord  Bentinck  had  put  an  end  to 
the  degrading  punishment  of  flogging  in  the  army,  an  English 
general  was  not  ashamed  to  sentence  a  Christian  who  had 
deserted  but  who  had  then  voluntarily  returned  to  two  hundred 
strokes  with  the  cat-o'-nine-tails.  The  Christians  were  made  to 
realise  that  under  all  circumstances  and  at  all  times  they  were 
in  no  wise  to  count  on  any  favour  from  the  Government  (cf 
p.  132). 

The  first  man  who  had  the  courage  and  the  ability  to  initiate 
a  more  sensible  regime  in  India  was  the  Governor-General, 
Lord  Wm.  Bentinck  (1828-1835).  With  him  India's  days  of 
reform  began. 

Bentinck  went  out  to  India  under  peculiar  circumstances. 
The  financial  position  of  the  Company  was  in  danger;  its 
dividends  had  decreased  enormously;  the  burden  of  debt  pressed 
upon  it  more  heavily  than  ever  ;  anxious  souls  feared  bankruptcy 
for  the  commercial  venture  which  had  hitherto  rolled  in  money. 

Bentinck  was  to  save  the  situation.  And  he  was  indeed  a 
financial  genius ;  in  a  very  short  time  he  was  able  to  effect 
considerable  economies  in  all  branches  of  the  administration,  to 
open  up  new  sources  of  income,  and  to  decrease  the  debt. 
But  Bentinck  was  more  than  a  skilful  financier,  he  was  also  an 
energetic  and  far-seeing  statesman ;  and  because  the  Company 
had  need  of  him  and  was  greatly  in  his  debt,  it  had  to  give  him 
a  free  hand  in  other  matters.  Bentinck  was  wise  enough  to 
introduce  his  reform  policy  in  matters  that  involved  no  expendi- 
ture, but  which  were  inherently  repulsive  to  every  English 
Christian.  Amongst  the  crudest  customs  of  Indian  heathenism 
was  that  of  widow-burning  or  suttee.  The  inquiries  of  the 
missionaries  and  the  narratives  of  servants  of  the  Company,  who 
could  speak  as  eye-witnesses,  left  no  doubt  that  this  custom 
was  carried  out  with  terrible  frequency.  It  has  been  calculated 
that  in  the  British  districts  of  the  Bengal  of  that  time  no  less 
than  5997  widows  were  burnt  alive  in  ten  years,  and  only  too 
often  the  unfortunate  women  were  induced  to  submit  to  this 
rite  or  were  thrown  by  main  force  amidst  the  flames  of  the 
burning  pile.  Lord  Bentinck  forbade  suttee  and  threatened 
in  the  future  to  subject  to  the  penalty  of  death  all  those  who 
were  in  any  way  connected  with  it  (1829). 

By  this  action  he  struck  at  the  very  root  of  Hinduism.  The 
Court  of  Directors  in  London  trembled  when  it  heard  of  this 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  PROTESTANT  MISSIONS      189 

measure  so  diametrically  opposed  to  the  policy  hitherto  pursued 
by  the  Company.  Old  Indian  civil  servants  conjured  the 
Governor-General  to  repeal  the  Act  ;  but  he  stood  firm,  and 
India  remained  quiet.  Encouraged  by  this  first  success, 
Bentinck  went  step  by  step  farther :  he  forbade  the  drowning 
of  children  in  the  sacred  rivers,  especially  the  Ganges ;  the 
exposure  of  the  aged  and  the  sick  on  the  banks  of  the  Ganges  ; 
the  tempting  to  self-sacrifice  by  throwing  oneself  beneath  the 
wheels  of  the  idol  cars  in  great  procession,  or  by  submitting  to 
the  tortures  of  hook-swinging ;  with  iron  hand  he  rooted  out  the 
Thags,  that  fearful  criminal  caste  of  North  India  who  in  honour 
of  the  goddess  Kali  strangled  all  who  came  within  their  power. 
Bentinck  was  also  the  first  who  dared  to  do  away,  even  in  part, 
with  the  injustice  caused  by  the  systematic  slighting  of  Chris- 
tians. First,  in  1832,  he  issued  the  decree  for  the  province  of 
Bengal  alone  that  in  the  eyes  of  British  justice  every  subject,  of 
whatsoever  caste  or  creed,  was  equal,  and  that  no  one  was  to  be 
deprived  of  his  citizenship  or  his  birthright  should  he  embrace 
another  creed,  Christianity  included.  All  these  reforms  were 
carried  out  without  difficulty,  and  although  they  attacked  long- 
existent  deeply  rooted  prejudices  of  the  Hindus,  they  were 
followed  neither  by  general  discontent,  mutiny,  nor  insurrection. 
This  gave  great  encouragement  to  the  men  in  England  and  in 
India  who  from  Christian  and  philanthropic  motives  disapproved 
of  the  "  traditional  "  policy  of  the  Company.  As  the  representa- 
tive of  this  section  Lord  Glenelg,  a  son  of  Charles  Grant,  and  a 
true  chip  of  the  old  block,  determined  in  the  year  1833  to 
commit  himself  to  a  downright  and  decisive  course  of  action  and 
to  strike  at  the  very  roots  of  the  Company's  connection  with 
Indian  idolatry.  He  enacted  a  law  the  seven  clauses  of  which 
read  as  follows : — 

"  It  is  hereby  decreed  :  ^ — 

"  First,  that  the  interference  of  British  functionaries  in  the 
interior  management  of  native  temples,  in  the  customs,  habits, 
and  religious  proceedings  of  their  priests  and  attendants,  in  the 
arrangement  of  their  ceremonies,  rites  and  festivals,  and 
generally  in  the  conduct  of  their  interior  economy,  shall 
cease. 

"  Secondly,  that  the  Pilgrim  Tax  shall  be  everywhere 
abolished. 

"  Tliirdly,  that  fines  and  offerings  shall  no  longer  be  con- 
sidered as  sources  of  revenue  by  the  British  Government,  and 
they  shall  consequently  no  longer  be  collected  or  received  by 
the  servants  of  the  East  India  Company. 

'  Cf.  Kaye,  Christianity  in  India,  p.  416. 


190  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

^'  Fourtklj',  that  no  servant  of  the  East  India  Company 
shall  hereafter  be  engaged  in  the  collection,  or  management,  or 
custodies  of  monies  in  the  nature  of  fines  or  offerings,  under 
whatsoever  name  they  may  be  known,  or  in  whatever  manner 
obtained,  or  whether  furnished  in  cash  or  in  kind. 

"  Fifthly,  that  no  servant  of  the  East  India  Company  shall 
hereafter  devise  any  emolument  resulting  from  the  above- 
mentioned  or  similar  sources. 

"  Sixthly,  that  in  all  matters  relating  to  their  temples,  their 
worship,  their  festivals,  their  religious  practices,  their  ceremonial 
observances,  our  native  subjects  be  left  entirely  to  themselves. 

"  Seventhly,  that  in  every  case  in  which  it  had  been  found 
necessary  to  form  and  keep  up  a  police  force  specially  with  a 
view  to  the  peace  and  security  of  the  pilgrims  or  the  worshippers, 
such  police  shall  hereafter  be  maintained  and  made  available 
out  of  the  general  revenues  of  the  country." 

According  to  the  customary  form  of  procedure,  this  Bill  of 
Lord  Glenelg's  had  to  be  submitted  for  approval  to  the 
Directors  of  the  Board  of  Control  and  to  the  Court  of  Directors. 
Both  were  practically  unanimous  in  refusing  it  as  unworkable. 
But  Glenelg  pointed  out  to  them  that,  since  he  had  the  right  to 
send  out  such  a  law  to  India  without  their  approbation,  it  would 
be  in  no  wise  conducive  to  their  prestige  should  he  enact  it 
against  their  wishes.  The  Directors  were  compelled  to  submit 
and  the  law  was  dispatched  to  India,  only  to  cause  grave 
shakings  of  the  head  there  amongst  all  the  exponents  of  the 
policy  which  had  hitherto  prevailed.  None  of  the  provincial 
Governments  had  either  the  desire  or  the  courage  even  to 
attempt  to  put  it  into  effect.  Three  years  went  by,  and  the 
law  seemed  buried  and  forgotten.  When  in  1836  an  important 
deputation  headed  by  Bishop  Corrie  reminded  the  Governor  of 
Madras  of  its  existence  and  begged  that  it  might  at  last  be 
enforced,  the  latter  rudely  replied :  "  The  Governor  perceives 
with  regret  that  the  Bishop,  far  from  fulfilling  the  duties  of  his 
calling,  one  of  which  was  surely  the  controlling  of  immoderate 
zeal  generated  by  heated  passions,  was  on  the  contrary  busying 
himself  with  matters  which  were  only  calculated  to  endanger 
the  peace  and  quietude  of  the  country."  It  had  in  the  mean- 
time become  clear  to  the  Court  of  Directors  in  England  that 
Glenelg's  Law  was  going  to  make  a  yearly  difference  to  their 
income  of  ^30,000,  to  such  a  sum  did  their  takings  from  Indian 
idol-worship  amount,  and  they  loudly  proclaimed  that  such  a 
sum  was  "  too  high  a  price  for  them  to  be  willing  to  pay  for 
falling  in  with  the  behests  of  Exeter  Hall  spouters." 

A  new  Dispatch  was  sent  to  India  which  practically  repealed 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  PROTESTANT  MISSIONS      191 

this  Law  of  1833,  and  which  made  the  earlier  laws  if  possible 
more  binding  and  the  favouring  of  idolatry  even  more  definite. 
But  overreaching  may  go  top  far.  In  consequence  of  this 
repeal  a  much  respected  Anglo-Indian  judge,  Nelson,  resigned 
his  office.  And  when  under  the  commandership-in-chief  of 
Sir  Peregrine  Maitland,  a  Christian  drummer  in  the  Madras 
Army  was  about  to  be  punished  because  he  had  refused  to  beat 
his  drum  in  honour  of  an  idol  procession,  the  upright  Maitland 
preferred  to  lay  down  his  command  rather  than  take  part  in 
this  coquetry  with  heathenism. 

The  resignations  of  Nelson  and  Maitland  gave  rise  to  intense 
excitement  in  England,  and  the  indignation  of  the  whole 
country  compelled  the  Court  of  Directors,  in  1840,  to  recognise 
the  main  lines  of  Glenelg's  Law  of  1833.  The  official  con- 
nection with  idol-worship  was  gradually  broken  off;  the 
Pilgrim  Taxes  ceased ;  the  temples  were  restored  to  the 
Brahmans ;  the  presence  of  British  officers  at  heathen  festivals 
was  no  longer  demanded.  It  was  a  long  time  before  this 
radical  change  was  accomplished ;  the  Company  had  taken 
over  far  too  many  temple-lands  and  had  administered  far  too 
many  temple  treasuries,  and  it  was  unpleasant  and  irritating  to 
relinquish  these  fat  morsels.  Even  at  the  time  of  the  Mutiny 
in  1857,  when  the  administration  was  taken  over  by  the  British 
Government,  many  shrines  and  temples  were  still  dependent  on 
the  Company.  But  in  any  case  a  new  era  had  dawned,  and  in 
this  one  point,  at  any  rate,  the  older  policy  was  radically  flung 
aside.  In  1862  the  last  temple  and  mosque  in  British  hands 
were,  through  a  further  law,  made  over  to  Hindu  and  Muham- 
madan  corporations. 

The  year  1845  inaugurated  yet  another  change.  As 
Bentinck's  above-mentioned  Decree  of  1832,  which  assured  a 
Christian's  equality  of  privilege  in  the  law  courts  of  the  province 
of  Bengal,  had  been  put  into  effect  without  any  considerable 
amount  of  opposition,  the  Company  now  allowed  itself  under 
stress  of  public  opinion  to  extend  the  decree  to  the  whole  of  the 
British  possessions  in  India.  It  enacted  in  1845  the  so-called 
lex  loci,  of  which  the  weightiest  clause  reads  as  follows : — 

"  So  much  ^  of  any  law  or  usage  now  in  force  within  the 
territories  subject  to  the  government  of  the  East  India  Com- 
pany as  inflicts  on  any  person  forfeiture  of  rights  or  property, 
by  reason  of  his  or  her  renouncing,  or  having  been  excluded 
from  the  communion  of  any  religion,  shall  cease  to  be  en- 
forced as  law  in  the  courts  of  the  East  India  Company, 
and  in  the  courts  established  by  Royal  Charter  within  the  said 
territories." 

^  Cf.  Kaye,  Christianity  in  India,  p.  459, 


192  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

We  may  at  once  add  that  the  year  1 866  saw  another  important 
law  passed  for  the  protection  of  Christians,  Up  to  that  time, 
when  a  Christian  forsook  his  old  faith,  he  had  been  forbidden, 
on  pain  of  condemnation  for  bigamy,  to  remarry  as  long  as  his 
heathen  wife  remained  alive,  and  as  the  wife's  heathen  relations 
generally  prevented  her  forcibly  from  following  her  converted 
husband,  both  of  them  were  condemned  to  an  involuntary  and 
painful  celibacy.  It  was  for  this  reason  that  that  excellent 
Anglo-Indian  legislator,  Sir  Henry  S.  Maine,  got  a  law  passed 
by  which  under  certain  conditions  the  remarriage  of  converted 
natives  was  permitted,  if  their  heathen  wives  definitely  refused 
to  remain  with  them — a  great  boon  for  the  native  Christians. 

In  the  meantime  the  strife  in  connection  with  the  renewal  of 
the  Charter  in  1833  had  wrung  fresh  concessions  from  the 
Company.  Not  only  did  the  nation  deprive  it  of  the  trade 
monopoly  with  China,  which  it  had  managed  to  retain  during 
the  conflicts  of  181 3,  but  a  parliamentary  resolution  compelled 
it  for  the  future  to  desist  from  all  manner  of  trading,  to  dispose 
of  all  stores,  provisions,  and  effects  both  in  India  and  at  home  ; 
to  sell  all  warehouses,  ships,  etc.,  and  henceforth  to  carry  on  no 
kind  of  commercial  enterprise.  The  "  trading  Company  "  was 
to  become  a  "  governing  body."  At  the  same  time  India  was 
thrown  open  to  the  whole  world,  and  any  and  every  honest 
man  who  liked  might  settle  there.  This  provision  opened  up 
India  likewise  to  the  missionary  activity  of  other  nations.  It 
was  in  this  year  that  the  missionary  labours  of  the  non-English 
missionary  societies  began  in  India. 

It  was  a  heated  conflict  in  which  one  concession  after 
another  was  gained,  partly  by  the  ever  growing  commercial 
interests  of  the  English  people,  partly  by  the  now  awakened 
public  conscience,  partly  by  an  increasing  sense  of  imperial 
responsibility  in  the  newly  acquired  territories,  at  the  expense 
of  the  tough  conservatism  of  the  Court  of  Directors.  The 
Company  can  claim  no  praise  for  having  carried  through  any 
of  these  important  reforms  on  its  own  initiative.  The  old 
inveterate  commercial  spirit  of  the  trading  house  had  to  be 
overborne  by  the  new  spirit  of  statesmanship  of  the  nation  and 
by  its  tremendously  strengthened  Christian  and  religious 
conscience. 


(c)  TJie  Advent  of  German  and  Americati  Missiona^'ies — 
T]ie  Opening  up  of  the  Panjab.     1 833-1 857 

It  is  no  part  of  our  intention  to  trace  here  the  work  of  each 
separate  missionary  society.  That  must  ever  be  the  task  of 
the  historians  of  the  different  societies.     It  only  concerns  us  to 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  PROTESTANT  MISSIONS      193 

give  a  general  view  of  the  first  appearance  of  those  factors 
which  were  of  direct  importance  for  Indian  missions.  We 
will  here  mention  two  events  which  went  to  the  very  root  of 
missionary  development  in  India.  Unfortunately  that  land  is 
periodically  scourged  by  famines,  which  at  times  have  attained 
the  most  truly  terrible  dimensions.  In  1837- 1838  a  great  famine 
afflicted  the  Ganges  Doab,  Rohilkhand,  and  vast  stretches  of 
Bengal,  districts  which  are  otherwise  the  most  fertile  and  most 
thickly  populated  of  any  in  India.  A  million  of  human  beings 
are  said  to  have  perished  of  hunger  and  its  consequences.  It 
was  on  this  occasion  that  the  Government  for  the  first  time 
instituted  relief  works  on  a  large  scale  and  saved  thousands 
from  death.  This  time  of  distress  gave  the  various  missions 
too  an  opportunity  of  carrying  on  rescue  work  amongst  the 
helpless  dying  masses.  It  was  then  that  the  missionary 
societies  founded  the  first  important  orphanages  for  famine 
orphans,  such  as  those  at  Sigra,  near  Benares,  which  became 
famous  under  the  brilliant  superintendence  of  a  German 
missionary  Leupolt,  and  at  Sicandra,  near  Agra,  where  the 
Government  presented  the  Societies  with  the  great  mausoleum 
of  Miriam  Zamani,  wife  of  Akbar,  whom  tradition  asserts  to 
have  been  a  Christian.  A  peculiar  movement  in  the  Krishnagar 
district  of  Lower  Bengal,  to  the  north  of  Calcutta,  which  had 
been  occupied  by  the  Church  Missionary  Society  in  1 821,  was 
in  part  a  consequence  of  the  generosity  exercised  during  this 
period  of  famine.  From  various  motives  upwards  of  five 
thousand  Hindus  and  Muhammadans  accepted  the  Christian 
faith  within  a  very  few  years  (183  8- 1840),  an  unexpectedly  rich 
harvest,  as  to  the  quality  and  importance  of  which  illusions  were 
most  certainly  entertained  at  first  in  Christian  circles.  The 
movement  ended  as  inexplicably  as  it  had  begun,  and  it  left 
the  missionary  authorities  with  the  difficult  and  thankless  task 
of  raising  a  host  of  merely  nominal  Christians  to  the  religious 
and  moral  level  of  a  Christian  community. 

In  the  Punjab,  in  the  far  north-west  of  India,  a  mighty 
kingdom  had  arisen  at  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century, 
under  the  Sikh  prince,  Ranjit  Singh.  This  was  the  only  king- 
dom in  India  which  appeared  to  offer  great  obstacles  to  the 
progress  of  the  English.  The  latter  were  therefore  far  from  dis- 
pleased when  the  over-confident  Sikhs,  after  Ranjit  Sino-h's 
death  in  1839,  raided  the  English  territories  and  thereby  pre- 
pared the  way  for  their  own  destruction.  After  two  short  but 
sharp  campaigns  in  1845  and  1849,  and  a  series  of  the  bloodiest 
battles  England  had  ever  fought  in  India,  the  whole  of  the 
Punjab  was  annexed  (1849)  and  incorporated  in  the  Indian 
Empire.  It  was  remarkable  that  this  new  province,  so  difficult 
13 


194  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

to  pacify,  should  receive  as  governors  a  succession  of  highly 
gifted  and  brilliantly  distinguished  men  like  Henry  and  Sir 
John  Lawrence,  Robert  Montgomery,  Sir  Herbert  Edwardes, 
General  Reynell  Taylor,  men  who  in  addition  to  their  other 
distinctions  were  men  of  decided  piety  and  great  missionary 
zeal.  These  men  not  only  made  no  secret  of  their  Christian 
profession  before  Hindu  and  Muhammadan  alike,  and  allowed 
Christian  principles  to  control  their  administration,  but  they 
supported  the  work  of  the  missionaries  with  a  self-sacrifice  and  an 
energy  of  personal  initiative  such  as  have  hardly  been  equalled 
in  the  history  of  Indian  missions.  The  Church  Missionary 
Society  was  the  first  to  benefit  by  this  extraordinarily 
favourable  state  of  things.  That  Society  took  up  mission  work 
in  the  Punjab  in  1852.  Assisted  by  the  magnificent  gifts  from 
these  distinguished  Englishmen,  it  was  enabled  to  establish  a 
number  of  stations  in  rapid  succession:  Amritsar  in  1852, 
Kangra  in  1854,  Multan  and  Peshawar  in  1855  ;  in  addition  it 
received  from  the  "  Himalaya  Missionary  Union "  (founded  at 
Simla  in  1840)  its  two  stations  at  Simla  and  Kotgarh,  both  of 
which  had  been  established  in  1843. 

Apart  from  these  operations  and  those  of  the  Scotch 
Societies,  we  find  that  this  second  quarter  of  the  century  was 
for  the  British  missionary  societies  a  time  of  consolidation,  of 
quiet  and  secret  working,  of  very  slow  but  general  development, 
noticeably  different  from  the  febrile  and  impulsive  initiative  of 
the  two  previous  decades.  It  proved  an  important  step  that 
the  High  Church  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel, 
strengthened  and  supported  in  England  as  it  now  was  by  the 
ritualistic  movement  of  Dr.  Pusey  and  his  school,  should  at  this 
time  (from  1835  onwards)  have  energetically  grappled  with  the 
responsibilities  which  devolved  upon  it  with  the  heritage  of  the 
Society  for  Promoting  Christian  Knowledge  ^  in  Tinnevelly, 
in  the  Cauvery  district,  and  in  Calcutta  and  its  suburbs.  Its 
reward  was  that  along  with  the  Church  Missionary  Society  it 
was  privileged  to  take  part  in  a  great  ingathering  of  Shanans  in 
Tinnevelly.  In  addition  the  year  1854  saw  it  enter  upon  a  new 
sphere  of  work  at  the  old  Moghul  capital,  Delhi,  on  the  borders 
of  the  Punjab. 

The  Church  Missionary  Society  in  the  meantime  had  been 
reorganising  its  previously  unsuccessful  evangelistic  work  amongst 
the  members  of  the  old  Syrian  Church  at  Travancore.  As  a  new 
field  of  labour  it  inaugurated  its  Telugu  Mission  in  1841.  Be- 
ginning at  Masulipatam,  where  a  College  which  soon  gained  for 
itself  renown  was  established  under  the  direction  of  the  famous 
educational  missionary  Robert  Noble,  it  afterwards  extended  its 
1  P.  156. 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  PROTESTANT  MISSIONS      195 

operations  to  Bezwada  on  the  Kistna  (1853)  and  to  EUore 
(1854). 

The  year  1843  was  fraught  with  grave  issues  to  Scotch 
missions ;  in  Scotland  the  Free  Church  shook  itself  loose  from 
the  National  Church,  and  whilst  all  the  Indian  missionaries  cast 
in  their  lot  with  the  former,  the  State  Church  claimed  the  whole 
of  the  mission  property,  and  likewise  the  colleges  built 
at  Calcutta,  Bombay,  and  Madras  by  its  great  educational 
missionaries,  Duff,  Wilson,  and  Anderson.  The  Free  Church  of 
Scotland  gave  proof  of  the  most  marvellous  self-sacrifice,  and  not 
only  made  provison  for  all  the  missionaries  who  desired  to  enter 
its  service,  but  in  a  comparatively  short  time  built  fresh  colleges 
in  the  three  Indian  capitals.  It  even  had  the  courage  to 
establish,  under  the  charge  of  the  zealous  and  talented 
Stephen  Hislop,  a  large  new  mission  centre  in  Nagpur,  the  capital 
of  hitherto  neglected  Central  India.  The  Established  Church  of 
Scotland,  which  at  the  Disruption  had  retained  the  fully 
equipped  mission  stations,  had  difficulty  in  finding  the  requisite 
number  of  duly  qualified  missionaries  and  in  meeting  current 
expenses,  as  it  possessed  far  less  of  the  missionary  spirit  than 
did  the  men  of  the  Free  Church.  The  great  educational  institu- 
tions of  Bombay  and  Madras,  therefore,  were  gradually  allowed 
to  lapse,  and  the  only  important  college  maintained  by  them 
was  the  "  General  Assembly's  Institution  "  at  Calcutta.  In  order 
to  take  part  in  the  actual  proclamation  of  the  gospel  amongst 
the  North  Indian  peoples,  in  addition  to  their  educational  work 
in  the  great  towns,  a  mission  on  a  small  scale  was  commenced 
by  the  Established  Church  of  Scotland  in  1855  at  Sialkot  and 
Wazirabad  in  the  Punjab.  Through  the  enthusiasm  of  Fergus- 
son,  a  former  chaplain  of  the  Company,  this  effort  was  in  1863 
extended  to  the  Protectorate  of  Chamba,  on  the  beautiful  lower 
slopes  of  the  Himalayas,  Acting  on  the  advice  of  Dr.  Wilson, 
the  Irish  Presbyterians  also  made  a  beginning  in  1841  at  Bombay, 
and  at  Rajkot  on  the  Kathiawar  Peninsula,  and  from  these 
centres  they  enlarged  their  sphere  of  work  so  as  to  include  all 
Kathiawar  and  Gujarat.  In  1846  they  took  over  the  London 
Missionary  Society's  station  at  Surat,  and  in  1859  all  the  other 
stations  in  Gujarat  which  had  belonged  to  this  older  missionary 
society. 

Of  other  new  British  Societies,  there  only  remains  for  us  to 
mention  the  disconnected  work  of  some  pious  Baptists  and 
Darbyites  in  the  delta  of  the  Godavari.  The  founder  of  this 
work  was  the  well-known  Darbyite,  Anthony  Groves.  At  his 
request  two  Baptist  artisans  settled  in  1857  at  Narsapur,  on  the 
chief  western  estuary  of  the  Godavari,  and  from  there  they  began 
to  work  throughout  the  entire  delta,especially  among  the  Madigas. 


196  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

Of  far  greater  importance,  however,  for  the  later  develop- 
ment of  Indian  missions,  was  the  extensive  way  in  which,  during 
this  same  period,  non-British  societies  entered  the  field,  and 
especially  German  and  American  societies.  The  Charter  of 
1833  had  not  only  opened  up  Indian  trade  to  all  nations,  it 
likewise  opened  up  Indian  missions  to  all  Churches.  To  Con- 
tinental and  American  Churches  it  was  a  potent  and  widely 
understood  signal  for  a  great  revival  of  missionary  zeal.  But 
let  us  begin  with  German  missions. 

It  would  seem  as  if  the  Basle  Society,  under  its  kindly  and 
well-informed  Director,  Wilhelm  Hoffmann,  had  only  been 
waiting  for  the  issue  of  the  new  Charter  to  start  work  in 
India  on  a  large  scale.  In  the  year  1834  a  beginning  was 
made  at  Mangalore,  on  the  west  coast ;  in  South  Kanara,  where 
Tulu  was  spoken  by  the  majority  of  the  peasant  population,  a 
second  station  was  founded  at  Mulki,  a  little  to  the  north  of 
Mangalore ;  whilst  yet  a  third  was  located  at  Udapi,  somewhat 
farther  north,  on  the  first  signs  of  a  general  movement  amongst 
the  Tulus.  As  a  second  sphere  the  South  Maratha  country  was 
chosen  in  1837,  a  land  in  which  the  ruling  tongue  is  the  same 
as  that  in  Kanara,  viz.  Kanarese.  Dharwar  and  Hubli  were 
occupied  in  1837  and  1839,  whilst  somewhat  later,  when  in 
consequence  of  a  famine  too  sanguine  hopes  were  entertained 
of  a  great  religious  movement  amongst  certain  sects  and  caste 
divisions,  stations  were  created  at  Guledgudd  (185 1)  and 
Betigeri  (1853).  Simultaneously  the  narrow  strip  of  Malabar 
coast  to  the  south  of  South  Kanara,  inhabited  by  a  dense 
Malayalam  population,  was  taken  possession  of,  and  stations 
were  erected  at  Tellicherry  (1839),  Cannanore  (1841),  Calicut 
the  capital  (1842),  Kodakal  (1857),  and  Palghat  (1858).  Special 
circumstances  compelled  the  opening  of  a  mission  in  Coorg 
in  1853,  and  led  to  the  location  of  a  station  at  Anandapur; 
and  a  magnificent  donation  at  Keti,  from  Casamajor,  a  rich 
Englishman,  introduced  the  Basle  missionaries  in  1847  to  the 
lofty  and  healthy  Blue  Mountains.  Thus,  in  the  course  of 
little  more  than  two  decades,  the  field  of  the  Basle  Missionary 
Society  was  occupied  to  practically  the  same  extent  as  it  has 
been  worked  during  the  past  half-century.  One  cannot  but 
marvel  at  the  skill  with  which  this  tiny  banner  has  been  planted 
in  the  forefront  of  the  attack  upon  the  great  fortress  of  India. 
The  operations  of  the  Basle  Society  are  more  uniform,  more 
coherent,  and  on  the  whole  less  broken  into  by  the  spheres  of 
labour  of  other  Protestant  missions  than  those  of  any  society 
of  its  size  in  India.  Moreover,  in  this  field  there  are  only  two 
great  language  groups,  Kanarese  and  Malayalam,  to  which 
Tulu   is    nearly   related,   and   of  which    Badaga   is    simply   a 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  PROTESTANT  MISSIONS     197 

dialect.  Fever-ridden  lowlands  and  storm-enveloped  heights 
are  to  be  found  within  districts  in  which  the  same  language 
is  spoken,  so  that  as  regards  the  work  of  the  missionaries, 
even  when  not  in  perfect  health,  comparatively  favourable 
conditions  prevail.  And  further  the  Basle  Society  produced 
during  its  first  twenty-five  years'  labours  quite  a  number  of 
distinguished  men,  such  as  that  original  and  impressive  person- 
ality Samuel  Hebich,  the  acute  and  versatile  Mogling,  the 
scholarly  Gundert,  and  others. 

A  further  attempt  of  the  Basle  Society  to  gain  a  foothold 
at  Dacca  and  Comilla,  in  Eastern  Bengal,  between  the  years 
1847  and  1850,  failed  owing  to  the  secession  of  the  missionaries 
sent  there  to  the  ranks  of  the  Baptists  in  1850. 

Likewise  the  Protestant  Lutheran  Missionary  Society 
(founded  at  Dresden  in  1836),  tired  of  its  initial  and  unpromising 
missionary  enterprise  amongst  the  rapidly  vanishing  Papuans 
of  Australia,  was  just  at  this  time  on  the  look  out  for  a  great 
and  promising  field  of  labour.  The  steady  perseverance  of  its 
first  Indian  missionary  Cordes,  and  some  adroit  profiting  by 
circumstances,  allowed  it  to  obtain  a  footing  in  Tranquebar, 
and  to  take  over  the  neglected  inheritance  of  the  Danish 
veterans.  From  thence,  partly  owing  to  voluntary  withdrawals 
on  the  part  of  other  societies,  and  partly  in  the  course  of 
unedifying  strife  with  those  societies,  the  Leipzig  Society 
rapidly  extended  its  operations  over  the  Cauvery  districts,  as 
far  as  Madras  in  the  north,  that  is  to  say,  with  the  exception 
of  Tinnevelly  and  Madura,  which  was  occupied  later,  over  the 
entire  field  occupied  by  the  old  Lutheran  fathers  :  Poriar  (1842), 
Mayavaram  (1844),  Madras  (1848),  Tanjore  (185 1),  Manigramam 
(1852),  and  in  1856  Kumbakonam  and  Coimbatore. 

When  Pastor  Gossner  severed  his  connection  with  the  Berlin 
Missionary  Society  in  1836,  and  on  his  own  initiative  began  to 
send  out  missionaries,  his  manifold  connections  with  English 
missionary  circles,  in  which  there  was  at  that  time  a  great  lack 
of  suitable  candidates,  soon  directed  his  attention  to  India,  So 
early  as  1839,  in  company  with  Start,  a  pious  Englishman,  he 
had  sent  the  first  missionaries  up  the  Ganges,  where  they 
opened  operations  at  Hadjipore  (1839),  Muzaffarpur  and  Chapra 
(1840),  Buxar  (1852),  Ghazipur  (1855),  and  Darbhanga  (1863). 
At  Chapra  Dr.  Ribbentrop  carried  on  medical  work  with  great 
devotion,  and  at  Ghazipur  Rev.  G,  W.  Ziemann  fulfilled  his 
labours  of  love  with  true  Teutonic  thoroughness  and  fidelity. 
When  in  1840  the  previously  mentioned  Himalaya  Missionary 
Union  was  founded  by  a  number  of  wealthy  Englishmen,  it 
sent  a  request  to  Gossner  for  missionaries,  and  he  dispatched 
a  number  to  Simla  and  Kotgarh,  Dr.  Prochnow.  who  afterwards 


198  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

became  General  Inspector  of  the  Gossner  Mission,  being  among 
those  sent  to  Kotgarh.  When  that  earnest  friend  of  missions, 
Donald  M'Leod,  was  British  representative  at  Nagpur  (1835- 
1843),  and  he  expressed  a  wish  to  establish  a  Christian  farm 
colony  amongst  the  Gonds,  which  was  to  serve  as  a  nucleus 
for  further  mission  work,  Gossner  sent  out  in  1841  six  young 
brethren  to  lofty  and  remote  Gondwana.  They  settled  at  the 
Gond  village  of  Caranja,  on  the  Amarkantak  plateau,  near 
the  sources  of  the  Godavari.  Most  unfortunately  the  cholera 
blighted  this  promising  missionary  project  within  a  few  months 
of  its  inception  ;  four  of  the  six  missionaries  fell  victims  to  the 
epidemic  and  died,  and  the  two  survivors  fled  to  Nagpur. 
These  undertakings  were  but  preludes  to  Gossner's  great  mission 
work  amongst  the  Kols  in  Chota  Nagpur.  In  1845  the  first 
of  Gossner's  missionaries  settled  in  Ranchi.  After  a  few 
fruitless  years,  this  mission  began  from  1850  onwards  to  garner 
comparatively  rich  harvests;  in  1857,  when  the  Mutiny  broke 
out,  there  were  already  goo  baptized  converts. 

Likewise  the  Women's  Association  for  the  Education  of 
Females  in  the  Orient,^  founded  in  Berlin  in  1842,  found  its 
chief  field  in  India.  Its  work  was  done  largely  in  connection 
with  the  Church  Missionary  Society,  which  had  at  that  time  so 
many  German  missionaries  in  its  service  that  the  addition  of 
a  number  of  German  Sisters  created  no  difficulties.  They 
devoted  themselves  to  the  work  of  the  Girls'  Orphanage  at 
Sigra,  near  Benares  (1857) ;  when  that  institution  was  transferred 
to  Sicandra,  near  Agra,  in  1863,  they  followed  it  to  its  new 
home.  Several  very  capable  Sisters  joined  both  English  and 
American  societies  from  the  ranks  of  this  Association. 

Just  for  a  short  time  (i 842-1 847)  the  older  Berlin  Missionary 
Society  had  a  station  at  Ghazipur,  but  it  was  abandoned  because 
of  the  Society's  rapidly  increasing  work  in  South  Africa.  In 
1843  the  North  German  Missionary  Society  also  began  operations 
amongst  the  Telugus  at  Rajahmundry,  on  the  Lower  Godavari ; 
but  this  work  they  passed  on  to  the  American  German  Lutherans 
in  1848.  In  consequence  of  disputes  on  questions  of  dogma  and 
financial  stress,  this  mission  has  since  1869  been  shared  between 
two  separate  but  harmoniously  working  American  Lutheran 
societies,  of  which  the  one,  the  Lutheran  General  Council,  has 
its  headquarters  at  Rajahmundry,  the  other  (by  far  the  more 
successful  of  the  two),  the  General  Synod,  at  Guntur,  on  the 
Lower  Kistna. 

Not  actually  with  a  view  to  work  in  India,  but  called  into 
being  through  the  magnetic  enthusiasm  of  the  imaginative 
GiJtzlaff,  was  the  work  undertaken   in    1857  by  the  Moravian 

^  "  Frauenvcrein  ftir  Bildung  des  weiblichen  Geschlechls  ini  Morgenlande." 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  PROTESTANT  MISSIONS      199 

Brethren  in  the  mountain  fastnesses  of  Little  Tibet,  amidst  the 
scattered  and  unreceptive  tribes,  half  Tibetan  and  half  Buddhist, 
to  be  found  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Kyelang.  This  work  has 
been  prolific  of  difficulties  and,  as  far  as  human  eyes  can  see, 
extremely  little  success  has  accompanied  it.  A  second  station 
was  opened  in  1862  at  Poo,  in  the  highland  State  of  Kunawar, 
on  the  Upper  Sutlej,  but  their  most  important  step  has  been 
the  establishment  of  a  medical  mission  at  Leh,  in  Ladakh, 
in  1885. 

Equally  as  important  as  the  appearance  of  the  Germans 
in  the  Indian  mission  field  was  the  well-manned  and  richly 
financed  work  undertaken  by  the  American  societies,  especi- 
ally by  the  Baptists  (American  Baptist  Union),  by  the  Con- 
gregationalists  (American  Board),  and  by  the  Presbyterian 
(American  Presbyterian  Mission  Board  North).  We  have 
already  found  the  Baptists  labouring  in  Burma  as  early  as 
181 3;  we  saw  how  they  extended  their  operations  when  they 
found  means  of  access  to  the  forest  and  mountain  tribes  of  the 
Karens,  In  the  period  we  are  now  discussing  this  work  made 
great  progress.  In  1840  Rangoon  was  appointed  as  head- 
quarters of  the  mission  to  the  Karens,  and  in  the  same  year  a 
station  was  created  at  Bassein.  In  1853  were  added  the 
important  stations  of  Henzada,  Shwedaung,  and  Toungoo,  in 
1854  that  of  Prome.  By  1861  there  was  a  Christian  community 
of  59,000  souls. 

In  the  meantime  the  American  Baptists  had  started  work  in 
two  new  districts  in  India  proper;  in  1840  the  Telugu  Mission, 
taking  Nellore  as  centre  (this  station  was  so  unfruitful  for  thirty 
years  that  again  and  again  there  was  serious  thought  of  its  being 
abandoned;  by  1863  it  had  only  registered  41  conversions, 
and  was  termed  in  friendly  circles  the  "Lone  Star"),  and  in 
1 841  the  Assam  Mission,  working  from  Sibsagar,  Nowgong 
(1841),  and  Gauhati  (1843);  this  mission  too  proved  for  a  long 
time  very  unfruitful. 

The  eyes  of  the  American  Congregationalists  (American 
Board)  had  been  directed  from  the  very  commencement  to 
India.  Thither  they  had  sent  their  first  missionaries  in  1812; 
it  was  there,  in  Bombay,  that  they  had  maintained  one  solitary 
station  since  181 3.  Hitherto  they  had  only  been  able  to  develop 
mission  work  on  a  large  scale  in  the  Jaffna  district  of  North 
Ceylon.  As  soon  as  India  was  opened  to  them  by  the  Charter 
of  1833,  they  crossed  over  from  Ceylon,  and  chose  as  their 
special  sphere  the  neighbouring  province  of  Madura,  where 
they  founded  stations  at  Madura  in  1834,  Dindigul  1835, 
Tirumangalam  1838,  Pasumalai  1845,  Periacoppam  1848, 
Mandapasalai  1851,  and  Battalagundu  in   1857.     In  little  less 


200  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

than  two  decades  they  thus  covered  the  entire  province  on  which 
they  had  set  their  affections  with  a  comparatively  close  network 
of  stations. 

A  second  field  of  labour  was  opened  up  to  the  Board  in 
Madras,  which  was  the  basis  of  operations  for  all  its  South 
Indian  missions  during  the  years  1837  to  1864.  From  that  city 
its  missionaries,  and  especially  members  of  the  Scudder  family, 
a  family  permeated  through  and  through  by  genuine  missionary 
enthusiasm,  invaded  the  Arcot  district,  the  most  northern 
portion  of  the  Tamil  country.  Stations  were  founded  at  Ami 
(1854),  Vellore  (1855),  Palmaner  (1859),  Madanapalli  (1863), 
and  Tindivanam  (1869),  and  thus  a  second  cohesive  missionary 
enterprise  was  established.  Since  1857  this  last-named  field 
has  been  independently  worked  by  the  Dutch  Reformed  Church 
of  America,  which  had  supported  and  maintained  it  from  the 
very  beginning.  From  Bombay,  too,  the  American  Congrega- 
tionalists  advanced  in  all  directions.  As  early  as  1831  they 
formed  a  Church  at  Ahmadnagar,  where  they  came  into  con- 
tact with  the  strongly  established  but  susceptible  Mahars  and 
Mangs  ;  in  1842  followed  the  station  of  Sirur,  Satara  in  1849, 
Wadal  in  1857,  and  Sholapur  in  1861.  This  is  the  Maratha 
Mission  of  the  American  Board. 

The  Presbyterians  found  a  magnificent  sphere  in  the  United 
Provinces  and  in  the  then  gradually  opening  Punjab ;  in  1834 
they  planted  their  first  station  in  Ludhiana,  and  in  1836  others 
at  Saharanpur  and  Sabathu.  They  pushed  on  through  this 
recently  annexed  frontier  district  of  the  Punjab,  first  in  a  south- 
easterly direction  into  the  United  Provinces,  founding  stations 
at  Allahabad  in  1836,  Fatehgarh  in  1838,  and  Mainpuri  in  1843. 
Soon  afterwards,  when  the  remaining  districts  of  the  Punjab 
were  opened  up,  they  established  themselves  in  Jullundur  (1846), 
Ambala  (1848),  Lahore  (1849),  Dehra  Dun  (1853),  and  Rawal- 
pindi (1856).  Theirs  was  the  first  missionary  society  to  enter 
these  parts,  for  even  the  Church  Missionary  Society  came 
after  them,  and  through  their  distinguished  missionaries,  Newton, 
Forman,  the  German  Ullmann,  etc.,  they  were  for  a  long  -time, 
with  the  Church  Missionary  Society,  the  leading  society. 

Not  far  away,  the  American  United  Presbyterians,  by  an 
agreement  with  the  Established  Church  of  Scotland,  commenced 
to  labour  in  Sialkot  in  the  year  1855. 

Between  the  English  Particular  Baptist  Missionary  Society 
in  Bengal  and  the  General  Baptists  in  Orissa  (since  1822) 
there  now  stepped  in  the  American  Free- Will  Baptists,  who 
at  oncp  proceeded  to  establish  a  chain  of  closely  linked 
stations  at  Balasore  (1838),  Jellasor  (1840),  Midnapur  (1863), 
and  Santipur. 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  PROTESTANT  MISSIONS     201 

In  the  year  1851  a  census  was  for  the  first  time  taken  of  all 
the  Indian  societies,  which  it  is  true  contained  a  fair  number  of 
omissions,  and  which  should  be  discreetly  handled  on  account  of 
the  various  methods  of  computation  employed  by  the  separate 
societies,  but  which  at  any  rate  provides  us  for  the  first  time 
with  a  moderately  reliable  bird's-eye  view  of  the  actual  extent  of 
mission  work  in  India  at  that  time.  According  to  this  census, 
Protestant  missions  contained  91,092  native  Christians  in  267 
congregations,  14,661  of  whom  were  communicants;  there  were 
besides  33,037  communicants  from  amongst  59,369  Christians  in 
632  churches  in  Burma,  and  in  Ceylon  11,859  Christians  with 
8182  communicants  in  186  churches. 

Let  us  limit  our  remarks,  however,  to  India  proper.  Of  the 
91,092  Christians,  24,613  belonged  to  the  Church  Missionary 
Society's  Tinnevelly  Mission,  10,315  to  the  Society  for  the 
Propagation  of  the  Gospel  in  the  same  region,  and  16,427  to  the 
London  Missionary  Society  in  South  Travancore.  These  three 
societies,  which  worked  almost  entirely  in  the  same  caste-strata, 
the  Shanar  or  Palmyra  peasants,  had  therefore  51,355  converts, 
that  is,  five-ninths  of  the  sum  total  of  missionary  success  up  to 
that  time.  The  Madras  Presidency  as  a  whole,  which  included, 
besides  the  three  missions  already  named,  the  congregations 
gathered  by  the  old  Danish  missions  in  the  Cauvery  districts, 
reported  74,176  Christians.  For  the  whole  of  the  remaining 
parts  of  India  there  remain  but  16,916  Christians,  little  more 
than  one-fifth  of  the  numbers  for  Madras.  This  fifth  existed 
almost  entirely  in  Bengal,  which  had  14,177  Christians.  Of 
these  4417  belonged  to  the  Church  Missionary  Society  in  the 
Krishnagar  region,  3476  to  the  Society  for  the  Propagation  of 
the  Gospel  in  its  Sundarbans  Mission,  and  1600  to  the  Baptists 
in  the  rice  districts  of  Eastern  Bengal. 

In  all  other  provinces  and  states  of  India  nothing  but 
modest  beginnings  of  missionary  work  could  be  discovered. 
It  was  a  time  of  laying  of  foundations.  Nineteen  larger  and 
a  few  smaller  societies,  having  amongst  them  a  total  of  339 
ordained  missionaries,  were  engaged  in  the  great  task.  Far 
and  away  the  strongest  of  these  was  the  Church  Missionary 
Society  with  64  missionaries ;  then  came  the  London  Mission- 
ary Society  with  49,  the  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the 
Gospel  with  35,  the  Baptists  with  30,  the  Basle  Missionary 
Society  with  23,  and  the  American  Board  with  22  missionaries. 
These-  six  leading  societies  had  in  all  233  missionaries,  that  is 
two-thirds  of  the  total  staff  in  the  field. 


HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 


3.  From  the  Indian  Mutiny  (1857)  to  the 
Proclamation  of  the  Empire  (1877) 

(a)  The  Mutiny 

The  century  following  the  battle  of  Plassey  in  1757  had 
been  extraordinarily  favourable  to  the  development  of  the  vast 
British  possessions  in  India.  Every  war  had  been  victorious  ; 
the  only  dangerous  rivals  to  the  English,  the  Marathas  in  the 
west  and  the  Sikhs  in  the  north-west,  had  been  severely 
defeated.  From  the  ruins  of  the  old  Moghul  Empire  one 
province  after  another  had  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the  English 
almost  without  an  effort.  Even  the  powerful  princes  of  Central 
India,  such  as  the  Nizam  of  Hyderabad,  recognised  the 
supremacy  of  England.  It  is  true  there  existed  an  old 
prophecy  that  English  rule  would  only  last  for  a  hundred  years 
in  India,  that  is,  that  it  would  terminate  in  1857;  yet  however 
diligently  this  oracle  may  have  been  noised  abroad  in  India, 
that  it  would  ever  be  fulfilled  appeared  in  the  highest  degree 
improbable.  That  there  was  plenty  of  "yeast"  in  the  country, 
who  could  wonder?  The  last  two  decades  had  brought  a  mass 
of  reforms  in  which  the  infliuence  of  the  spirit  ,of  Christianity 
was  unmistakable  and  whose  attack  upon  traditions,  especially 
the  traditions  of  Hinduism,  was  undeniable.  The  question 
was,  Would  Hindu  India  yield  to  the  spirit  of  the  new  era 
without  resistance?  In  any  case,  it  was  no  wonder  if  it  should 
protest  against  the  new  order  of  things  by  a  volcanic  eruption, 
especially  as  just  then  a  most  foolish  foreboding  was  in  the  air 
that  the  English  proposed  by  craft  or  by  force  to  destroy  or 
overturn  the  caste  system  of  the  Hindus.  And  the  caste 
question  is  no  joking  matter  with  the  otherwise  docile  Hindu ; 
if  that  be  threatened,  he  is  prepared  to  resist  to  the  uttermost. 
Islam  was  gilded  by  the  most  glorious  traditions  of  faery 
splendour  and  uncontested  dominion  ;  would  it  allow  itself  to 
be  dethroned  without  an  attempt  to  shake  off  the  yoke  ?  Would 
it  consent  to  become  the  obedient  underling  of  a  Christian 
sovereign — and  a  woman  at  that?  These  were  the  burning 
questions  of  the  day  and  they  were  of  supreme  importance  to 
the  last  great  Muhammadan  princes.  Lord  Dalhousie,  the  last 
Governor-General  before  the  Mutiny,  had  annexed  one  Indian 
principality  after  another,  and  finally,  in  1856,  even  the  kingdom 
of  Gudh.  Every  prince  in  India  trembled  then  for  the  continu- 
ance of  his  own  supremacy.  Yet  in  spite  of  all  this  undeniable 
unrest  the  causes  of  the  Indian  Mutiny  are  still  unexplained ; 
historians  have  not  been  able  to  throw  definite  light  on  the 
"  Why  ?  "  and  the  "  Wherefore  ?  " 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  PROTESTANT  MISSIONS     203 

Sure  it  is  that  the  Mutiny  marks  the  mighty  outburst  of 
a  flood-tide  of  Islamic  movements  which  followed  in  the  wake 
of  the  Crimean  War  (1853-1856).  As  this  war,  according  to 
Muhammadan  ideas,  had  terminated  in  a  brilliant  triumph 
for  the  cause  of  Islam,  the  whole  Muhammadan  world  now 
deemed  the  time  ripe  for  the  re-establishment  of  the  vanished 
glories  of  the  universal  reign  of  Islam,  and  of  course  above  all 
in  India.  The  opportunity  there  seemed  to  be  most  inviting. 
The  army  on  which  England  relied  for  the  defence  of  the  first 
jewel  in  her  crown,  her  Indian  possessions,  was  composed  of 
46,241  European  soldiers.  With  these,  and  under  their  orders, 
served  some  233,700  Indian  Sepoys.  What  would  happen 
supposing  these  natives  with  their  fivefold  majority  should 
turn  upon  the  few  English  troops,  scattered  all  over  the 
country?  What  could  but  happen  if  only  a  portion  of  the 
181  millions  who  at  that  time  composed  the  population  of  the 
gigantic  Empire  should  dare  to  raise  a  serious  revolt?  More- 
over, the  Government  with  incomprehensible  shortsightedness, 
and  in  spite  of  the  direct  opposition  of  the  Governor-General, 
had  just  weakened  the  Anglo-Indian  Army  by  disbanding  several 
regiments.  To  crown  all,  it  was  involved  in  a  war  with  Persia, 
and  had  dispatched  thither  several  regiments  and  some  of  its 
most  competent  generals. 

It  is  further  certain  that  the  immediate  cause  for  the 
outburst  of  the  insurrection  was  the  introduction  of  a  new 
kind  of  cartridges,  concerning  which  it  was  noised  abroad,  and 
not  altogether  without  foundation,  that  they  were  greased  with 
the  fat  of  oxen  and  swine.  To  take  them  between  one's  teeth 
or  even  to  touch  these  cartridges  was  to  make  a  Brahman 
Hindu  soldier  break  caste,  and  a  Muhammadan  to  become 
unclean — both  "crimes  worthy  of  death,"  against  which  a  man 
ought  to  protest  to  the  last  drop  of  his  heart's  blood,  and  which 
caused  the  Sepoys  to  work  themselves  into  a  perfect  frenzy  of 
madness.  And  it  ought  not  to  be  forgotten  that  it  was  in  the 
Army  of  Bengal  that  the  English  had  spared  caste  feeling  and 
prejudice  to  the  minutest  detail,  and  had  thereby  fostered  a 
spirit  of  arrogance  and  exaggerated  self-importance. 

Our  business  here  is  not  to  write  a  history  of  the  Mutiny. 
On  May  loth,  1857,  it  broke  out  at  Meerut,  in  the  North-West 
Provinces,  and  spread  like  wildfire  from  garrison  to  garrison 
and  from  province  to  province.  In  a  few  weeks  almost  the 
whole  of  North  India  was  in  flames;  the  Englishmen  who  fell 
into  the  hands  of  the  mutineers  were  mercilessly  hewn  down, 
and  the  women  and  children  were  not  spared.  Together  with  the 
missionaries  and  their  families,  the  native  Christians,  especially 
those  "who  had  taken  a  leading  position  as  teachers  or  preachers, 


204  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

were  in  the  gravest  peril ;  popular  indignation  ran  high  against 
them  as  deserters  from  their  people.  The  struggle  soon  con- 
centrated round  the  three  cities  of  Delhi,  Cawnpore,  and 
Lucknow.  At  Cawnpore  about  looo  Europeans  and  truly- 
devoted  natives  defended  themselves  in  a  badly  chosen  encamp- 
ment for  several  weeks,  but  on  June  27th  fell  victims  to 
treachery.  The  bloodthirsty  Nana  Sahib  had  promised  them 
with  the  most  sacred  oaths  a  free  passage  down  the  Ganges  ; 
but  when  they  stepped  on  board  the  boats  he  had  provided,  a 
pitiless  fire  from  the  river  bank  cut  them  down  almost  to  a 
man.  The  125  English  ladies  and  children  who  on  this 
occasion  fell  into  the  hands  of  Nana  Sahib,  the  Man  of  Blood, 
were  butchered  in  cold  blood  on  July  15th  and  thrown  dead  or 
dying  into  a  well.  It  was  the  most  ghastly  tragedy  in  the 
whole  Mutiny.  After  a  siege  lasting  four  months,  the  old 
imperial  city  of  Delhi  was  on  September  20th  captured  from 
the  hands  of  the  mutineers.  The  defence  of  the  so-called 
Residency,  or  fortress,  of  Lucknow  during  the  four  and  a  half 
months,  from  July  to  November  1857,  is  the  most  brilliant  page 
of  the  melancholy  story.  It  cost,  it  is  true,  the  lives  of  those 
excellent  generals.  Sir  Henry  Lawrence  and  Sir  Henry 
Havelock,  but  it  ended,  in  spite  of  the  immeasurably  superior 
force  of  the  enemy,  in  the  relief  of  the  well-nigh  decimated 
garrison.  With  the  rescue  of  these  valiant  troops  our  interest 
in  this  series  of  bloody  events  terminates.  Only  in  the  north 
of  Oudh  did  the  Mutiny  take  the  form  of  a  national  war;  it 
was  nearly  a  year,  before  the  last  sparks  of  this  destructive  fire 
were  stamped  out  both  there  and  in  Central  India. 

That  mission  work  in  India  should  have  suffered  severe 
losses  in  this  sudden  and  powerful  outburst  of  national  passion 
is  all  the  less  to  be  wondered  at  as  a  network  of  stations 
reached  almost  from  end  to  end  of  the  region  in  which  the 
Mutiny  occurred.  When  Delhi  was  captured  by  surprise  on 
May  nth  every  missionary  resident  in  the  city  was  murdered  ; 
belonging  to  the  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel 
were  Rev.  A.  R.  Hubbard  and  two  catechists,  Sandys  and  Koch  ; 
to  the  Baptists,  J.  Mackay ;  a  number  of  wives  and  daughters  of 
missionaries,  and  the  English  chaplain.  There  also  fell  three 
distinguished  Indian  Christians,  the  most  lamented  of  whom 
was  Wilajat  Ali,  a  Baptist  preacher.  In  the  tragedy  at  Cawnpore 
there  fell  Revs.  W.  H.  Haycock  and  H.  E.  Cockey,  of  the 
S.P.G.,  whilst  the  American  Presbyterians  lost  Messrs. 
J.  E.  Freeman,  D.  E.  Campbell,  A.  D.  Johnson,  and  R.  M. 
McMullen,  who  had  fled  for  safety  to  Cawnpore  from  their 
menaced  station  of  Fatehgarh,  together  with  the  wives  of  all 
these  missionaries  and  two  children  of  the  Campbells, — a  great 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  TROTESTANT  MISSIONS     205 

bath  of  blood  and  the  heaviest  loss  sustained  by  the  mission. 
At  Sialkot  the  Scotch  Presbyterian  missionary,  Hunter,  and 
his  family  were  also  put  to  death.  If  we  add  several  English 
chaplains  and  their  families  to  the  list,  we  find  that  35  or  37 
members  of  missionary's  or  chaplain's  families  were  murdered, 
together  with  15  native  Christians  of  special  distinction. 
However  painful  such  losses  were,  we  cannot  but  admit  that 
they  were,  comparatively  speaking,  insignificant.  At  the  time 
the  Mutiny  broke  out  there  were  about  300  members  of 
missionaries'  families  within  the  affected  sphere ;  that  scarcely 
10  per  cent,  of  these  were  killed  is  a  pure  miracle.  We  can 
only  explain  it  by  the  fact  that  the  rage  of  the  populace  was 
not  directed  in  the  first  place  against  the  missionaries,  and  that 
the  latter  had  not  only  faithful  friends  amongst  the  converts, 
but  they  likewise  found  many  protectors  among  the  heathen, 
who  either  assisted  their  flight  or  concealed  them.  Thus  by 
far  the  greater  part  were  able  to  escape  either  northwards 
to  the  mountains,  or  down  stream  to  Agra  or  Benares,  etc. 
It  is  cheering  also  to  read  of  the  slight  losses  sustained  by  the 
native  Christian  Church.  The  young  Christians  as  a  rule  stood 
firm,  cases  of  open  recantation  were  rare,  even  when  the  choice 
"  lay  between  denial  and  instant  death.  At  Fatehgarh,  Dhokal 
Parshad,  headmaster  of  the  mission  school  (American 
Presbyterian)  in  the  neighbouring  town  of  Farrukhabad,  fell 
into  the  hands  of  the  rebels.  They  offered  him  life  and  freedom 
for  both  himself  and  his  family  if  he  would  renounce  his  faith. 
He  answered,"  What  is  my  life,  that  I  should  deny  my  Saviour? 
I  have  never  done  that  since  the  day  I  first  believed  on  Him, 
and  I  never  will."  He  bowed  his  head,  and  was  immediately 
executed.  Gopinath  Nundy,  too,  a  well-known  convert  of  Duff's, 
and  at  this  time  a  minister  under  the  American  Presbyterians, 
fell  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy  and  was  thrown  into  prison 
together  with  his  family.  He  too  remained  steadfast  under 
every  kind  of  torture,  being  greatly  encouraged  therein  by  the 
comforting  words  of  his  fellow-prisoner,  Cheek,  an  English 
ensign,  who  called  out  to  him,  "  Padri,  Padri,  hold  on ;  never 
give  in." 

It  is  unfortunately  the  custom  to  lay  the  blame  for  every 
rebellion  or  war  in  the  colonies  on  foreign  missions  and  on  the 
missionaries.  Such  opinions  were  by  no  means  slow  to  make 
their  appearance  in  England  during  the  year  1857.  At 
Barrackpore,  the  great  barracks  at  the  gates  of  Calcutta,  the 
Christian  Colonel,  Wheeler  by  name,  was  stated  to  have  caused 
the  mutiny  by  teaching  some  Sepoys  who  had  come  inquiring 
the  way  of  salvation.  At  a  still  earlier  date  in  London,  an 
ex-Governor-General,  Lord  Ellenborough,  had  thundered  in  the 


2o6  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

House  of  Lords  against  his  successor,  Lord  Canning,  because 
the  latter  was  said  to  have  put  down  his  name  for  a  missionary 
subscription — which  by  the  way  was  wholly  untrue !  The 
missionaries  were  said  to  have  so  keenly  injured  the  deepest 
feelings  of  both  Hindus  and  Muhammadans,  and  to  have 
threatened  so  violently  that  which  they  held  to  be  most  sacred, 
that  the  rebellion  might  be  regarded  as  a  counter  blow  to  the 
dreaded  Christianising  of  the  country.  It  will  therefore  not  be 
without  interest,  considering  the  frequency  with  which  such 
complaints  and  insinuations  recur,  at  this  point  to  enter  upon  a 
quiet  and  unbiased  examination  of  the  matter.  What  are  the 
facts  of  the  case  ? 

It  is  quite  certain  that  many  mission  stations  were  pillaged 
and  burnt  and  that  a  piteous  loss  of  life  took  place  both  in  the 
families  of  missionaries  and  in  the  native  Church.  These  excesses, 
however,  on  the  part  of  the  mutineers  occurred  only  at  those 
stations  and  among  those  communities  which  lay  in  the  direct 
course  of  the  devastating  cyclone,  and  they  were,  on  the  whole, 
remarkably  few  in  number.  Far  and  away  the  strongest  mission 
in  the  Mutiny  area  at  that  time,  the  Church  Missionary  Society, 
had  practically  no  loss  of  life  to  deplore.  In  those  districts  of 
India  where  Christianity  had  become  a  power,  and  especially  in 
the  Presidency  of  Madras,  everything  remained  peaceful ;  only 
the  North-Western  Provinces  and  Oudh,  where  mission  work 
was  still  in  its  initial  stages,  rose  in  rebellion.  With  the  solitary 
exception  of  Oudh,  which  at  that  time  was  wholly  unevangelised, 
the  Mutiny  was  confined  almost  entirely  to  the  Sepoy  Army, 
and  its  soldiers  were  precisely  those  whom  the  East  India 
Company,  with  the  most  pathetic  care,  had  always  kept 
hermetically  sealed  from  every  kind  of  missionary  influence  ! 
A  comparatively  large  number  of  military  chaplains  and  their 
families  fell  victims  to  the  Mutiny.  Furthermore  the  very 
province  which  had  been  openly  and  expressly  governed  in 
accordance  with  Christian  principles  and  not  with  traditional 
policy  by  men  of  decided  Christian  character,  the  Punjab, 
remained  quiet,  and  alone  provided  the  means  whereby  the 
Mutiny  was  so  quickly  suppressed. 

The  native  Christian  communities,  feeble  as  their  numbers 
were,  proved  themselves  to  be  thoroughly  trustworthy.  In  the 
fort  at  Agra,  where  large  numbers  of  Englishmen  were  crowded 
together,  the  native  Christians  readily  entered  their  service,  filling 
the  places  of  the  heathen  servants  who  had  deserted  almost  to  a 
man  ;  and  they  served  both  faithfully  and  well.  Native  Christians 
worked  the  ordnance  of  the  fortress.  In  Bengal,  within  fourteen 
days  of  the  outbreak  of  the  Mutiny,  the  Krishna!gar  Christians 
volunteered  to  support  the  Government  with  troops,  the  trans- 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  PROTESTANT  MISSIONS      207 

port  service,  or  anything  else  that  lay  in  their  power,  without 
claiming  any  reward  or  pay.  At  Mirzapur,  near  Benares,  and  in 
the  Hooghly  district  to  the  north  of  Calcutta,  peace  was  pre- 
served by  police  patrols  composed  of  native  Christians.  At 
Chota  Nagpur  the  German  missionaries  offered  10,000  Kols  as 
auxiliary  troops.  From  Burma  Dr.  Mason,  an  American  Baptist, 
promised  a  battalion  of  Christian  Karens.  All  these  offers  were 
declined  by  the  shortsighted  Government,  in  order  not  to  make 
an  "  invidious  distinction,"  by  accepting  the  help  of  the  native 
Christians.  But  for  any  one  with  eyes  to  see,  it  was  clear  as  day- 
light that  in  the  native  churches  there  was  a  class  of  people 
whose  interests  were  coincident  with  those  of  the  Government 
and  upon  whose  good  faith  reliance  could  be  placed  absolutely. 
(Cf.  Hodgson  Pratt's  Y^is^ditch,  Basle  Missionafy  Magazine,  1850, 
p.  381.) 

(b)  Neutrality  or  Christianity — The  Controversy  at  Home 

These  events  and  the  experience  of  devout  statesmen  like  the 
two  Lawrences,  Robert  Montgomery,  Edwardes,  and  others  in 
the  Punjab  encouraged  the  Christian  party  in  England,  whilst 
still  deeply  impressed  by  this  tremendous  calamity,  to  open  a 
fresh  and  decisive  campaign  against  the  Company's  "  traditional 
policy  "  of  neutrality.  Was  it  not  possible  to  diffuse  throughout 
the  whole  of  India  those  Christian  principles  which  had  so 
splendidly  stood  the  test  in  the  Punjab,  and  to  exchange  the 
existing  "  neutral  policy  "  for  a  definite  "  Christian  policy  "  ?  The 
demands  of  the  leaders  of  this  movement  were  by  no  means 
excessive.  They  are  best  summed  up  in  a  memorial  presented 
to  Queen  Victoria  in  1858  by  the  Church  Missionary  Society. 
Amongst  other  things,  the  following  words  occurred  :  "  Your 
Memorialists  humbly  beseech  your  Majesty  to  have  it  declared 
to  the  public  authorities  in  the  East  Indies : — 

"  I.  That  the  existing  policy  will  be  no  longer  professed  or 
maintained,  but  that,  as  it  is  the  belief  of  your  Majesty  and  of 
this  Christian  nation  that  the  adoption  of  the  Christian  religion, 
upon  an  intelligent  conviction  of  its  truth,  will  be  an  incalculable 
benefit  to  the  natives  of  India,  the  countenance  and  aid  of 
Government  will  be  given  to  any  legitimate  measures  for  bringing 
that  religion  under  their  notice  and  investigation. 

"  2.  That  since  the  Government,  in  addition  to  maintaining  its 
own  educational  establishments,  provides  grants  in  aid  to  all 
other  schools  which  provide  a  prescribed  amount  of  secular 
knowledge  .  .  .  the  Bible  will  be  introduced  into  the  system  of 
education  in  all  the  Government  schools  and  colleges,  as  the 
only  standard  of  moral  rectitude,  and  the  source  of  those  Christian 


208  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

principles  upon  which  your  Majesty's  Government  is  to  be 
conducted. 

"  3.  That  any  connection  which  may  still  subsist  between  the 
Indian  Government  and  the  revenues  or  ceremonies  of  the 
Muhammadan,  Hindu,  or  other  false  religion  shall  at  once  cease 
and  determine." 

For  nearly  two  years  a  hot  battle  was  waged  in  England 
by  means  of  the  press,  of  public  meetings  and  in  Parliament 
on  these  points, — an  interesting  proof  of  the  way  in  which 
the  public  conscience  of  England  had  been  stirred  to  the 
very  depths  by  the  Mutiny,  and  of  the  influence  which  the 
Christian  party  of  that  day,  especially  the  Church  Missionary 
Society  and  its  supporters,  was  able  to  exercise  even  in  those 
Government  circles  which  would  eventually  have  to  decide  the 
question.  It  is  the  most  strenuous  campaign  ever  undertaken 
against  the  old  Indian  "neutrality  policy,"  and  can  therefore  be 
rightly  judged  only  when  placed  alongside  the  abuses  which 
were  covered  by  the  wide  mantle  of  that  high-sounding  word. 
In  spite  of  all  its  energy,  however,  the  Christian  party  was  beaten 
and  the  "principle  of  neutrality"  carried  the  day.  The  only 
concession  of  any  value  to  the  cause  of  missions  was  a  section  of 
the  Proclamation  issued  on  Queen  Victoria  assuming  the  sole 
government  of  India.  It  ran  as  follows:  "We  hold  Ourselves 
bound  to  the  natives  of  Our  Indian  territories  by  the  same  obli- 
gations of  duty  which  bind  us  to  all  Our  other  subjects,  and  those 
obligations,  by  the  blessing  of  Almighty  God,  We  shall  faithfully 
and  conscientiously  fulfil.  .  .  .  Firmly  relying  Ourselves  on  the 
truth  of  Christianity,  and  acknowledging  with  gratitude  the 
solace  of  religion,  we  disclaim  alike  the  Right  and  the  Desire  to 
impose  Our  convictions  on  any  of  Our  subjects,"  That  was,  of 
course,  but  little  when  compared  with  the  programme  of  the 
missionary  party,  but  it  was  none  the  less  a  personal  confession 
of  faith  on  the  part  of  the  Queen,  and  as  such  of  value  in  this 
crisis  :  India  was  to  know  that  it  was  governed  by  a  Christian. 

More  important  than  these  "sand-ploughing"  discussions 
about  "  Christian "  policy  was  the  decision  as  to  the  future 
government  of  India.  All  the  negotiations  concerning  the 
renewal  of  the  Charter  since  1783  had  had  the  tendency  of 
gradually  curtailing  the  rights  and  liberties  of  the  Company,  and 
had  given  the  British  Government  an  ever  increasing  claim 
upon  India.  It  was,  of  course,  an  unheard-of  condition  of  things 
that  a  small  and  exclusive  company  of  merchants  should  be  in 
sole  possession  of  a  great  empire  replete  with  inexhaustible 
wealth.  It  was  tolerable  only  so  long  as  commercial  relations 
with  India  were  difficult,  their  risks  great,  and  their  profits 
uncertain.     It  was  simply  impossible  when  England  saw  that 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  PROTESTANT  MISSIONS     209 

India  was  far  and  away  the  richest  and  the  most  promising  of 
its  possessions  overseas,  and  when  it  perceived  with  affright  that 
this  jewel  had  been  within  a  hair's  breadth  of  being  lost  during 
the  late  revolt.  However  great  might  have  been  the  services 
rendered  by  the  Company  in  acquiring  and  developing  this  de- 
pendency, the  national  instinct  of  self-interest  now  demanded  its 
rights ;  for  the  future  India  must  belong  to  England,  not  to  the 
Company.  Of  course  the  Company  and  the  Court  of  Directors 
defended  themselves  against  their  own  suppression  by  every 
means  in  their  power ;  for  them  it  was  a  fight  for  existence. 
But  the  result  could  never  be  for  a  moment  in  doubt.  The 
Company  was  forced  to  submit.  Queen  Victoria  took  over  the 
government  of  India,  and  by  a  stroke  of  the  pen  the  Company 
ceased  to  exist.  The  Company's  "  Governor-General  became 
the  English  Queen's  Viceroy." 

At  a  brilliant  durbar  held  at  Allahabad  on  November  ist, 
1858,  Lord  Canning  read  the  proclamation  by  virtue  of  which 
the  Queen  assumed  all  authority.  "  This  document,  which  is  in 
the  truest  and  noblest  sense  the  Magna  Charta  of  the  Indian 
people,  proclaimed  in  eloquent  words  a  policy  of  justice  and 
religious  toleration ;  and  granted  an  amnesty  to  all  except  those 
who  had  directly  taken  part  in  the  murder  of  British  subjects. 
Peace  was  proclaimed  throughout  India  on  July  8th,  1859.  In 
the  following  cold  weather  Lord  Canning  made  a  viceregal 
progress  through  the  Northern  Provinces,  to  receive  the  homage 
of  loyal  princes  and  chiefs,  and  to  guarantee  them  the  right  of 
adoption"  (Hunter,  The  Indian  Empire,  p.  495). 

(c)  After  the  Mutiny.     1 857-1 879 

This  period,  and  especially  the  first  ten  years  after  the 
Mutiny,  is  the  most  brilliant  era  of  England's  dominion  in  India, 
at  any  rate  from  the  point  of  view  that  never  before  had  so 
many  statesmen,  at  once  endowed  with  the  most  distinguished 
gifts  and  moved  by  the  most  sincere  Christian  convictions, 
occupied  the  highest  positions  in  the  country.  Sir  John 
Lawrence  was  Viceroy  from  i  S64  to  1 869,  Sir  Robert  Montgomery 
and  Sir  Donald  M'Leod  were  Lieutenant-Governors  of  the 
Punjab.  It  was  said  that  the  last-named  and  a  devout  general, 
Reynell  Taylor,  were  the  two  Ferishtas  (Angels)  of  India.  "  If 
there  were  many  Christians  like  M'Leod,"  said  a  Hindu,  "there 
would  be  no  more  Hindus  and  Muhammadans,"  The  Governor 
of  Bombay  was  Sir  Bartle  Frere,  the  suppressor  of  the  East 
African  slave  trade.  Sir  William  Muir,  Lieutenant-Governor 
of  the  North- Western  Provinces,  a  great  scholar  and  Arabist, 
wrote  a  life  of  Muhammad  in  four  volumes  in  order  to  help 
14 


2IO  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

the  missionaries  in  their  spiritual  struggle  with  Islam,  Other 
notable  officials  were  Robert  Cust,  the  philologist,  General 
Edward  Lake,  Sir  Richard  Temple,  Henry  Ramsay,  etc.,  all 
men  who  used  their  influence,  and  most  of  them  their  wealth 
also,  to  further  the  missionary  cause. 

Not  only  had  the  Mutiny  shaken  English  rule  to  the  depths 
in  India,  and  for  the  first  time  awakened  in  England  a  full 
consciousness  of  the  fact  that  India  lay  at  the  base  of  her  world 
dominion,  it  had  also  powerfully  affected  English  Christendom, 
and  had  kindled  its  sense  of  responsibility  for  the  peoples  of 
India,  To  give  India's  millions  the  best  they  had,  their 
Christianity  and  the  Christian  culture  based  thereupon — this 
was  the  sacred  purpose  with  which  the  English  Churches  re- 
turned to  their  missionary  labours  of  love  after  the  anxiety  and 
heartbreak  of  the  Mutiny.  In  the  two  decades  that  followed 
this  mighty  impulse  was  to  work  itself  out.  We  can  follow  it 
principally, — in  spite  of  the  fact  that  later  on  missionary  zeal 
greatly  abated  in  England  and  that  neither  men  nor  funds  were 
to  be  obtained  in  sufficient  quantities,  in  four  great  movements : 
in  the  growth  of  the  Church  Missionary  Society,  of  Methodist 
missions,  of  Presbyterian  missions,  and  of  missions  to  women. 

The  Church  Missionary  Society  had  from  the  first  taken 
advantage  of  the  great  national  impulses  which  decade  after 
decade  swept  over  the  English  people,  using  them  as  levers  for 
promoting  and  deepening  missionary  interest.  At  this  time 
there  came  a  twofold  impulse  to  its  hand.  The  great  Christian 
statesmen  who  had  contributed  so  largely  to  the  salvation  of 
India  were  almost  all  its  friends  in  an  especial  manner  and 
supported  its  undertakings.  And  it  was  precisely  the  Punjab, 
the  province  where  more  than  half  the  population  consisted  of 
fanatical  Muhammadans, which  had,  under  the  expressly  Christian 
government  of  these  very  statesmen,  not  only  remained  loyal 
during  all  the  confusion  of  the  Mutiny,  but  had  even  placed 
regiments  for  its  suppression  at  the  disposal  of  the  Government. 
The  contention,  repeated  ad  nauseam,  that  a  pronounced 
Christian  attitude  of  the  Government  would  drive  the  races  of 
India  into  revolt,  and  w'ould  especially  embitter  the  Muham- 
madans, was  crushingly  refuted  by  the  facts  of  the  case.  On 
the  contrary,  wherever  the  slightest  consideration  had  been 
shown  to  the  prejudices  of  the  Hindus  and  the  Muhammadans, 
black  hate  and  revolt  had  been  their  thanks;  but  where 
Christianity  had  been  frankly  and  openly  professed,  millions  of 
Muhammadans  were  within  less  than  ten  years  found  to  be 
faithful  and  devoted  subjects  of  the  English  Crown.  And  as 
this  fact  was  true  for  the  whole  country,  so  it  was  repeated  in 
many  widely  separated  places  in  the  most  striking  fashion.     No 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  PROTESTANT  MISSIONS     211 

town  was  so  notorious  for  its  fanaticism  as  Peshawar,  near  the 
Khyber  Pass.  An  English  Commissioner  had  declared  there 
that  so  long  as  he  had  anything  to  say  in  the  matter  no 
missionary  should  cross  the  Indus.  A  short  time  afterwards 
this  same  individual  was  stabbed  by  an  Afghan  on  the  verandah 
of  his  house.  His  successor,  Sir  Herbert  Edwardes,  began  his 
official  activity  in  the  very  house,  the  verandah  pillars  of  which 
were  still  splashed  with  the  dead  man's  blood,  by  founding  an 
evangelical  mission  for  the  town ;  and  he  established  peace 
and  quiet  in  the  place. 

So  the  Church  Missionary  Society,  with  the  help  of  the 
above-mentioned  statesman,  set  about  the  extension  of  its 
mission  in  the  Punjab  which  had  been  commenced  in  1852 
under  such  favourable  circumstances.  In  1867  Lahore  was 
created  a  new  centre  for  the  mission,  and  with  it  Amritsar. 
Along  the  western  frontier  of  India,  in  the  partly  barren,  partly 
fruitful  Derajat  plains  lying  between  the  Indus  and  the  con- 
torted chain  of  the  Sulaiman  Mountains,  stations  were  laid  down 
at  Tank  (1862),  at  Dera  Ismail  Khan  (1868),  at  Dera  Ghazi 
Khan  (1879),  and  at  Pind  Dadan  Khan  (1881).  At  Clarkabad 
a  great  Christian  settlement  was  established.  At  Srinagar,  the 
capital  of  Kashmir,  a  footing  was  obtained,  but  only  after  un- 
speakable difficulties.  The  procedure  followed  in  founding 
these  stations  was  for  the  most  part  the  same :  rich  Englishmen 
appealed  to  the  Society  on  behalf  of  a  certain  town,  they  then 
placed  large  sums  of  money  at  its  disposal  for  the  initial  period 
of  its  existence  ;  and  sometimes  they  would  even  erect  the 
mission  premises. 

The  immediate  cause  of  the  outbreak  of  the  Mutiny  had 
been  the  annexation  of  the  extremely  wealthy  kingdom  of 
Oudh  by  the  English  in  1856.  Even  before  the  Mutiny  the 
Church  Missionary  Society  had  planned  the  missionary 
occupation  of  the  land.  After  the  Mutiny,  they  set  to  work 
seriously.  Lucknow,  the  theatre  of  the  most  splendid  exploits 
of  the  English,  was  the  first  station  (1858),  and  Fyzabad  (in 
1862)  the  second.  A  few  months  before  the  outbreak  of  the 
rebellion  Dr.  Butler  had  landed  as  the  first  apostle  of  a  Church 
hitherto  unrepresented  in  India,  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  North  of  America.  This  Church  also  began  after  the 
Mutiny  to  branch  out  in  mission  work  on  a  scale  and  to  an 
extent  scarcely  dreamed  of  in  India  before.  With  almost 
overwhelming  rapidity  it  established  two  great  groups  of 
stations,  "the  one  in  Oudh  (1858,  Lucknow;  1865,  Gonda, 
Sitapur,  Hardoi ;  1866,  Rae  Bareli,  Unao,  Barabanki),  the 
other  in  the  northern  part  of  the  United  Provinces  (1859, 
Bareilly,      Shahjahanpur,      Jellalabad,      Moradabad,       Bijnor, 


2  12  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

Amroha ;  i860,  Budain  ;  1861,  Pilibhit ;  1871,  Fatehganj, 
Cawnpore;  1 881,  Agra,  Fatehpur-Sikri ;  1885,  Allahabad).  But 
it  did  not  rest  satisfied  even  with  this  vast  reseaii  of  stations ; 
with  feverish  haste  one  mission  field  after  another  was  added 
thereto:  on  the  slopes  of  the  Himalayas,  Mussoorie  (1864); 
Naini  Tal  (1857);  Pithoragarh  (1874);  in  Rajputana,  Ajmer, 
in  Sind,  Karachi  (1874)  ;  in  Gujarat,  Baroda  (1888);  in  Central 
India,  Nagpur  and  Kampti  (1876);  in  the  Nizam's  Dominions, 
Hyderabad,  Secunderabad  (1873);  Gulbarga  (1874);  in  the 
Kanarese  country,  Bellary  (1876),  Bangalore,  Kolar  (1876);  on 
the  West  Coast,  Bombay,  Mazagaon,  Colaba,  Poona  (1872);  in 
the  Tamil  country,  Madras  (1874);  in  Bengal,  Calcutta  (1888), 
Diamond  Harbour,  Asansol,  Pakur ;  in  Bihar,  Muzaffarpur,  and 
many  other  stations  in  almost  every  part  of  India, 

During  the  first  ten  years  of  its  work  this  Society  devoted 
all  its  energies  (save  in  the  United  Provinces  of  North  India)  to 
evangelistic  work  amongst  Europeans  and  Eurasians,  especially 
in  the  person  of  the  eloquent  and  enthusiastic  Bishop  William 
Taylor,  who  was  afterwards  the  "  Missionary  Bishop  of  Africa." 
Later,  however,  it  took  up  direct  mission  work,  having  a 
particular  liking  for  undertakings  of  a  literary  nature.  Whilst 
in  1856  the  Society  had  not  a  single  representative  in  India,  in 
1 88 1  it  could  point  to  thirty-two,  and  nine  years  later  to  sixty- 
five  ordained  missionaries,  and  had  thus  taken  precedence  of 
every  society  then  working  in  India  save  one.  But  what  a 
difiference  between  it  and  the  Basle  Missionary  Society,  which 
followed  closely  in  its  wake,  and  had  sixty-one  ordained 
missionaries  in  the  same  year.  In  the  German  Society  there 
was  systematic  limitation  to  given  districts  with  a  uniform  and 
straightforward  method  of  work ;  whereas  the  Methodists 
launched  enterprises  in  every  part  and  corner  of  the  country, 
sometimes  recklessly  intruding  upon  the  spheres  of  labour  of  older 
societies,  yet  still  with  consuming  zeal,  with  great  financial 
resources,  and  at  times  under  very  capable  leaders,  such  as,  for 
instance.  Bishop  Thoburn,  his  sister  Miss  Isabella  Thoburn, 
Bishop  Parker,  Dr.  Scott,  and  others. 

Up  to  the  time  of  the  Mutiny  the  English  Wesleyan 
Methodist  Missionary  Society  had  confined  its  energies  to  S.  India 
and  Ceylon,  and  had  taken  a  leading  position  in  Mysore  and 
throughout  Ceylon.  After  1857  it  held  it  to  be  its  duty  to  take 
a  share  also  in  the  work  in  North  India.  There,  however,  it 
did  not  look  for  any  self-contained  and  limited  field  of  labour, 
but  simply  founded  isolated  stations:  1862,  Calcutta;  1876, 
Dum  Dum  and  Barrackpore,  suburbs  of  Calcutta;  1887, 
Bankura;  1879,  Raniganj  and  Benares ;  1872,  Lucknow;  1880, 
Fyzabad.     Whether  the  dispersion  of  these  stations  over  so 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  PROTESTANT  MISSIONS     213 

large  an  area  and  amid  such  widely  different  racial  conditions 
is  advantageous  to  the  work  appears  to  us  doubtful. 

A  third  noteworthy  feature  of  missionary  work  after  the 
Mutiny  is  the  advent  of  a  large  number  of  Presbyterian 
workers,  even  though  the  individual  missions  were  but  small. 
We  have  already  mentioned  that  the  American  Presbyterians 
had  laid  down  an  important  chain  of  stations  from  Allahabad 
in  the  south-west  to  Rawalpindi  in  the  north-west,  straight 
through  the  United  Provinces  and  the  Punjab  ;  also  that  in 
1855  the  Church  of  Scotland  and  the  American  United 
Presbyterians  had  settled  down  in  cordial  unity  in  the  north  of 
the  Punjab,  in  the  Sialkot,  Wazirabad,  Gujarat,  and  Gujranwala 
districts.  These  older  missions  were  consolidated  and  extended 
by  the  establishment  of  new  stations.  In  1870  the  Church  of 
Scotland  opened  a  new  mission  at  Darjeeling,  and  Kalimpong 
(1873),  which  is  especially  interesting  because  of  the  fact  that 
the  expense  of  each  separate  missionary  department  was 
borne  by  different  church  guilds.  Likewise  there  now  came 
fresh  to  the  field — another  thank-offering  for  the  rescue  of  India 
from  the  stress  of  the  Mutiny — the  Irish  Presbyterians,  who 
began  a  stiff  and  wearisome  task  on  the  very  hard  soil  of 
Rajputana  (Beawar,  i860;  Nasirabad,  Ashapura,  Todgarh, 
1 861  ;  Ajmer,  1862;  Jaipur,  1866;  Deoli,  1871  ;  Udaipur,  1878  ; 
Alwar,  1880;  Jodhpur,  1887). 

In  1877  the  Canadian  Presbyterians  started  work  on  the 
still  virgin  soil  of  the  Protected  States  of  Central  India  (1877, 
Indore,  Mhow,  Ujjain  ;  1885,  Nimach ;  1886,  Ratlam).  Small 
plants  were  laid  down  by  the  English  Presbyterians  at  their  one 
station  of  Rampur  Boalia  in  Bengal  (1862),  and  by  the  Scotch 
Original  Seceders  at  Chaupara  (1872),  later  at  Seoni  in  the 
Central  Provinces. 

Of  new  societies,  there  still  remain  to  be  mentioned  the 
Danish  Missionary  Society  which,  after  the  troubles  of  the 
Ochsian  caste  dispute,  settled  in  the  Tamil  country  in  1861, 
and  occupied  a  sphere  of  influence,  principally  to  the  west  of 
Cuddalore ;  the  Hermannsburg  Society  in  the  south  Telugu 
districts  (1864,  Salurpetta  ;  1865,  Nayudupetta;  1867,  Gudur, 
Rapur;  1870,  Vakadu,  Venkatagiri ;  1873,  Kalahasti ;  1877, 
Tirupati ;  1883,  Kodur) ;  the  German  Protestant  Synod  of 
North  America  in  the  north-east  corner  of  the  Central 
Provinces,  on  the  Upper  Mahanuddy  (1868,  Bisrampur ;  1871, 
Raipur) ;  the  English  Quakers  (Society  of  Friends)  in  the 
Nerbudda  Valley  (1876,  Hoshangabad,  Sohagpore) ;  the 
Swedish  Protestant  National  Society,  also  in  Central  India, 
from  1878,  and  two  Canadian  Baptist  Missionary  Societies 
(founded  in  1874  and   1875,  the  one  by  the  Baptists  of  Quebec 


2  14  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

and  Ontario,  the  other  by  the  Baptists  of  the  Canadian  Mari- 
time States),  which  laboured  in  the  northern  Telugu  districts  at 
Coconada,  BimHpatam,  and  other  places. 

Of  special  interest  is  the  inauguration  of  women's  missionary- 
societies,  which  undertake  more  particularly  the  work  amongst 
the  women  of  India  by  means  of  boarding  schools  and  day 
schools,  infirmaries  and  hospitals,  and  zenana  visiting.  We 
pass  over  them  at  this  stage,  however,  in  order  to  trace  their 
development  in  a  more  connected  fashion  later. 

As  the  number  of  missionaries  thus  rapidly  increased  and 
missionary  activity  developed,  the  need  for  mutual  counsel  in 
general  missionary  conferences  became  more  and  more  evident. 
In  1855  the  first  of  these  was  held  in  Calcutta  for  the  province 
of  Bengal,  the  second  at  Benares  in  1857  for  the  North-Western 
Provinces,  the  third  at  Ootacamund  for  Southern  India  in  1858, 
and  the  fourth  at  Lahore  in  1862  for  the  Punjab.  These  local 
conferences  were  the  precursors  of  the  first  General  Indian 
Missionary  Conference,  which  took  place  in  Allahabad  in 
1872,  and  was  attended  by  136  missionaries.  Then  came  a 
special  South  India  Missionary  Conference  at  Bangalore  in 
1879,  which  has  become  famous  owing  to  the  importance  of 
the  business  then  transacted.  These  missionary  conferences 
gradually  became  a  great  power  in  Indian  missionary  life ; 
the  ripest  missionary  experience  has  found  expression  in 
their  transactions.  Many  of  the  addresses  then  given  are 
even  now  well  worthy  of  being  read.^ 

During  this  period  there  was  a  great  tendency  to  focus 
missionary  work  particularly  on  the  so-called  "  aborigines." 
This  name  was  given  on  the  one  hand  to  the  whole  of  the 
tribes  in  Western  Bengal  and  the  Central  Provinces — whose 
name  of  Kolarian  is  both  misleading  and  without  ethnological 
foundation,  and  on  the  other  hand  to  those  Dravidian  peoples 
and  tribes  who,  when  the  greater  Dravidian  races  were 
Hinduised,  remained  in  their  mountain  fastnesses  and  primeval 
forests,  and  who  were,  comparatively  speaking,  in  a  very  inferior 
state  of  civilisation.  For  a  long  time  all  kinds  of  attempts  had 
been  made  to  carry  the  gospel  to  these  casteless  tribes.  In 
Travancore,  Alexio  de  Menezes  had  sent  evangelists  as  early 
as  1599  to  the  Arajers  of  the  hill  country — at  that  time  called 
Malleans.  In  1848  Rev.  Henry  Baker,  an  English  missionary, 
revived  this  old-time  undertaking  and  founded  amongst  the 
Arajers,  or  Arriers,  the  station  of  Mundakajam.  On  the  Blue 
Mountains,    where    countless    remnants    of    the    most   widely 

1  The  report  of  the  Benares  Conference  (1857)  was  destroyed  in  the  Mutiny  of  the 
same  year,  but  complete  reports  of  all  other  conferences  are  obtainable  ;  tliat  of  the 
Allahabad  Conference  is  a  volume  of  548  pages. 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  PROTESTANT  MISSIONS     215 

different  tribes  live  as  near  neighbours,  the  Basle  missionary, 
Metz  (from  1850  onwards),  had  shepherded  the  Todas  and 
Kotas,  the  Irulers  and  the  Kurumbans,  traversing  precipitous 
mountains,  toiling  through  the  hot  passes  in  the  hills,  crossing 
bridgeless  torrents  and  trackless  scrub.  In  1850  another 
German  missionary,  Drose,  of  the  Church  Missionary  Society, 
had  tried  from  Bhagalpur  on  the  Ganges  to  gain  access  to  the 
Paharias.i  However,  as  these  tribes  inhabit  pathless  primeval 
forests  or  clefts  in  the  hills  at  once  fever-haunted  and  most 
difficult  of  approach,  the  work  amongst  them  had  everywhere 
come  to  a  standstill.  It  was  at  this  point  that  the  great  success 
of  the  mission  to  the  Kols  attracted  the  attention  of  missionary 
circles  at  home.  Whereas  this  mission  in  185 1  had  only 
numbered  31  baptized  adherents,  and  in  1861  2400,  in  1871 
it  had  swollen  to  20,727,  and  in  1881  to  the  very  large  number 
of  44,084.  At  the  time  of  the  unfortunate  crisis  of  1868,  when 
public  opinion  in  India  took  sides  passionately  either  with  the 
missionaries  who  had  remained  faithful  to  the  leadership  of 
Gossner  or  with  those  who  had  gone  over  to  the  Anglicans, 
the  K61  Mission  and  its  rapid  growth  was  in  everybody's  mouth. 
People  realised  that  similar  conditions  to  those  prevailing 
amongst  the  Kols  were  to  be  expected  in  the  case  of  many 
other  aboriginal  tribes  and  that  it  was  still  perhaps  both 
possible  and  relatively  easy  to  save  them  from  the  rapid 
onward  march  of  Hinduism  and  to  gather  them  into  the 
Christian  Church.  So  the  Society  for  the  Propagation  of 
the  Gospel  embarked  blindly  on  work  among  the  Kols,  ap- 
propriated at  least  one-third  of  the  success  of  the  Gossner 
Mission,  and  established  itself  in  this  most  promising  mission 
field.  Apart  from  the  K61  missions,  interest  centred  most 
round  the  two  other  strongest  aboriginal  peoples,  the  Santals 
in  Bengal  and  the  Gonds  in  the  Central  Provinces.  Taking 
Taljhari  as  their  starting-point,  the  Church  Missionary  Society 
began  to  work  amongst  the  Santals  in  i860,  and  in  their  well- 
known  systematic  way  they  covered  the  north  of  the  Santal 
district  with  a  network  of  stations.  They  were  followed  in 
1867  by  the  two  Scandinavians,  Skrefsrud  and  Borresen,  who, 
under  the  name  of  the  "  Indian  Home  Mission,"  initiated  the 
work  which  has  since  become  so  famous.  In  the  year  1870  the 
Scotch  Free  Church  began  work  in  the  south-west  of  the  district 
(Pachamba,  1870;  Tundi,  in  the  district  of  Manbhum,  1879). 
In  1872  Cornelius,  formerly  a  Swedish  sailor,  left  the  Indian 
Home  Mission  and  founded  a  little  cause  independently  at 
Jamtara,  with  which  at  a  later  period  the  Plymouth  Brethren 
associated  themselves.  In  1875,  A.  Hagert,  who  had  formerly 
'  Paharias,  i.e.  mountain  people.     Their  Dravidian  tongue  is  called  Malto, 


2i6  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MJSSIONS 

been  a  hotel  waiter,  joined  this  work,  and  with  some  friends 
founded  the  stations  of  Bethel,  Bethlehem,  Bethany,  and 
Bethesda. 

To  reach  the  Gonds  of  the  Central  Provinces  had  been 
the  intention  of  the  Church  Missionary  Society  when  in  1854 
they  founded  the  station  of  Jubbulpore  (near  the  Upper  Nar- 
bada) ;  but  Jubbulpore  turned  out  to  be  an  unsuitable  working 
centre,  no  matter  how  hard  the  missionaries  located  there 
strove  to  get  into  touch  with  the  Gonds.  We  have  already 
mentioned  the  unfortunate  first  attempt  of  Gossner's  mission- 
aries in  1 84 1.  In  1866  the  Free  Church  of  Scotland,  from  its 
Central  Indian  station  of  Nagpur,  made  a  forward  move  into 
Gondwana  (the  primeval  forest  district  of  the  Gonds)  and 
established,  fifteen  miles  north  of  Nagpur,  the  station  of 
Chhindwara,  which  was,  however,  made  over  to  the  Swedish 
Protestant  National  Society  in  1885  on  account  of  its  lack  of 
success.  The  last-named  Society  had  undertaken  in  1878  the 
work  which  we  described  above  solely  in  order  to  evangelise 
the  Gonds ;  it  also  turned  its  attention  to  other  small  hill  tribes 
of  that  region,  especially  the  Kurkus,  who  were  nearly  related 
to  the  Kols  of  Chota  Nagpur.  Its  stations,  Sagar  (1878), 
Bethyl  (1880),  Chhindwara,  received  from  the  Free  Church  of 
Scotland  (1885),  Nimpani  near  Bethul  (1886),  and  Amarwara 
(1888),  were  all  at  any  rate  founded  as  Gond  stations,  even 
though  work  was  everywhere  carried  on  amongst  the  Hindus 
by  whom  the  missionaries  were  more  immediately  surrounded. 
In  1874  the  American  Methodist,  Norton,  a  devout  but  fanatical 
free  lance,  came  into  this  part  of  the  world  and  settled  first  at 
Ellichpur,  and  afterwards  at  Baesdehi ;  he  worked  principally 
among  the  Kurkus.  Other  unattached  missionaries  also 
laboured  in  these  remote  regions.  In  1879  the  Church 
Missionary  Society  crossed  right  over  into  the  Gond  territory 
and  founded  its  first  station  at  Mandla,  to  which  a  second  was 
added  in  1891,  Marpha. 

After  the  Santal  Kols,  and  the  Kurku  Gonds,  the  largest 
compact  mass  of  non-Hinduised  aborigines  is  to  be  found  in 
Assam.  They  do  not,  however,  like  those  of  the  rest  of  India, 
belong  to  the  Dravido  -  Kolarian  stock,  but  are  akin  by  a 
highly  complicated  ethnological  and  linguistic  relationship  to 
the  scattered  family  of  Tibeto-Mongolian  peoples.  The 
American  Baptists,  who  in  1841  had  taken  up  work  in  the 
humid  valley  of  the  Brahmaputra,  now  set  their  heart  upon 
the  broad  highlands  which  hemmed  in  the  deep  river  valley 
towards  the  south,  and  upon  which  there  was  to  be  found  a 
dense  but  strangely  mixed  population  of  aboriginal  tribes  ;  they 
worked  principally  amongst  the  Garos.     Side  by  side  with  them 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  PROTESTANT  MISSIONS     217 

laboured  the  Welsh  Calvinistic  Methodists,  who  had  located 
their  first  station  at  Cherrapunji,  also  in  1841,  and  who  now 
gave  themselves  entirely  up  to  work  amongst  the  Khasias, 
the  Jains,  and  kindred  populations ;  in  quick  succession  they 
founded  a  number  of  new  stations  amongst  the  hill  folk : 
Jowai  (1886),  Shillong  (1870),  Sheila  (1871),  Shangpung  (1879), 
Mawphlang  (1878),  etc. 

In  the  year  1880  the  Church  Missionary  Society,  by  the 
desire  and  at  the  expense  of  a  subsequent  bishop,  Bickersteth, 
established  the  station  of  Kherwara  amongst  the  Bhils,  a  hill 
tribe  in  Rajputana,  where  that  most  devoted  missionary,  Rev. 
C.  S.  Thompson,  laboured  with  great  self-sacrifice  for  twenty 
years — until  cholera  carried  him  off.  When  the  splendid  water- 
works were  constructed  on  the  Godavari  which  were  destined  to 
transform  the  barren  plains  near  the  mouth  of  that  great  river 
into  waving  and  fruitful  rice  plains,  the  earnest  Christian 
directors  of  the  works,  Sir  A.  Cotton  and  the  future  General 
Haigh,  came  into  contact  with  the  Kois,  a  shy  people  and  one 
nearly  related  to  the  Gonds,  and  persuaded  the  Church  Mission- 
ary Society  in  i860  to  build  a  Koi  station  at  Dummagudem,  on 
the  Godavari. 

In  the  early  sixties  the  General  Baptists  in  Orissa  attempted, 
from  their  station  of  Berhampur,  to  reach  the  wild  "  Kandhs," 
i.e.  mountain  people,  notorious  for  their  human  sacrifices,  and 
with  this  end  in  view  they  occupied  Russelkonda.  In  the  year 
1863,  Rev.  W.  L.Jones,  a  self-denying  missionary  of  the  London 
Missionary  Society,  settled  at  Dudhi  in  the  Singrowli  district, 
south  of  Benares,  and  worked  with  the  most  untiring  kindliness 
amongst  the  depraved  and  timid  peoples  of  the  forest,  until  in 
1870  he  was  carried  off  by  jungle  fever.  His  work  was  con- 
tinued only  in  a  feeble  fashion. 

Such  are  the  more  important  attempts  that  have  been  made 
up  and  down  in  the  forest  wilds  of  India  to  carry  the  gospel  to 
the  scattered  aborigines.  The  deadly  fever  of  the  Indian  forests, 
the  entire  absence  of  paths,  and  the  inaccessibility  of  the 
villages  in  the  midst  of  the  woods,  the  timidity  of  the  aborigines, 
who  for  centuries  past  have  shrunk  from  any  contact  whatsoever 
with  civilisation,  their  linguistic  and  tribal  differences,  and 
likewise  the  fact  that  India  offers  elsewhere  far  easier  and  more 
attractive  openings  for  missionary  work,  have  all  combined  to 
hinder  the  greater  part  of  these  efforts  from  developing  into  a 
real  success.  Apart  from  the  K61  and  Santal  missions,  they 
merely  form  an  episode  in  the  history  of  Indian  missions. 

Famines  are  unfortunately  a  regular  calamity  in  India,  and 
in  this  period  one  succeeded  another  with  painful  rapidity. 
Happily   most   of  them    drew   only   parts   of   India    into  this 


2i8  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

fellowship  of  suffering.  Thus  the  famine  of  1 860-1861  visited 
only  the  northern  Ganges  Doab  and  Rohilkhand  :  by  that  in 
1866  a  million  people  were  cut  off  in  Orissa ;  that  of  1868  swept 
over  Jhansi  and  Rajputana  ;  that  of  1874  over  Bengal,  Bihar,  and 
Bundelkhand.  But  the  terrible  famine  of  1876- 1879  was  more 
or  less  felt  throughout  all  the  north  and  east  of  the  peninsula. 
In  far-off  Kashmir  whole  villages  were  depopulated,  and  the 
missionaries  found  everywhere  uninterred  corpses — on  the  banks 
of  rivers,  in  the  streets,  under  the  trees.  But  the  districts  which 
felt  the  famine  far  more  severely  than  any  others  were  the 
Telugu  and  Tamil  countries.  Here  hundreds  of  thousands  died. 
The  Government  made  tremendous  efforts  to  feed  the  hungry 
and  to  supply  those  who  could  still  perform  it  with  paid  work. 
Missions  went  hand  in  hand  with  the  Government,  organising 
help  on  a  large  scale.  Especially  did  the  American  Baptist 
missionary.  Rev.  J.  Everett  Clough,  distinguish  himself  as  much 
by  his  practical  ability  as  by  his  helpful  philanthropy.  He 
obtained  sole  responsibility  for  three  miles  of  the  Buckingham 
Canal,  which  had  been  begun  as  a  famine  work,  and  which  was 
to  unite  Madras  with  the  Kistna  Estuary  (Bezwada),  and  with 
the  sole  help  of  his  teachers  and  catechists  he  was  able  to 
terminate  this  enormous  task  to  the  entire  satisfaction  of  the 
authorities.  In  this  way  he  was  able  to  give  paid  employment 
to  thousands  of  natives. 

To  an  extent  never  known  before,  the  Hindus  came  to 
perceive  that  the  missionaries  meant  well  by  them,  and  still 
more,  that  connection  with  the  Christian  community  in  such 
seasons  of  distress  was  the  best  protection,  and  afforded  the 
safest  prospect  of  help  for  those  of  the  lower  castes  or  of  no 
caste  at  all.  It  thus  came  about  that  when  the  famine  ceased — 
as  a  matter  of  principle  none  had  been  baptized  during  its 
actual  duration — vast  numbers  of  the  people  went  over  to 
Christianity.  In  three  days  (July  2nd,  3rd,  and  4th,  1878)  in  the 
Ongole  Mission  3536  adults  were  baptized,  and  before  the  end 
of  the  year  the  total  had  increased  to  9606;  in  1880,2757 
additional  ones  were  added  ;  and  in  1881,  2000  more.  It  is 
only  right  to  acknowledge  that  since  1870  a  good  work  had 
been  going  on  in  this  mission ;  nearly  every  annual  report  had 
told  of  local  revivals.  But  it  was  the  famine  which  first  gave 
the  decisive  impetus  to  this  mass  movement.  Equally  large 
were  the  accessions  to  the  two  Anglican  missions  in  Tinnevelly. 
In  the  year  1880  they  reported  no  less  than  19,000  new 
members,  though  they  were  considerably  more  cautious  in 
administering  baptism  than  were  the  Baptists  in  the  Telugu 
country.  Almost  all  the  other  societies  in  the  Telugu  and 
Tamil  countries  shared  more  or  less  in  this  mass  movement, 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  PROTESTANT  MISSIONS     219 

and  the  results  were  so  large  that  the  whole  numerical  pro- 
portions of  Indian  missions  were  not  a  little  disturbed. 

The  grand  total  of  native  Christians  in  185 1  was  91,092;  in 
the  following  decade  it  had  grown  to  138,731  (an  increase  of 
47,639,  or  51  per  cent.);  by  1871  it  reached  224,258  (an  increase 
of  85,527,  or  61  per  cent);  in  1881  it  stood  at  417,372  (an 
increase  of  193,214,  or  86  per  cent,  and  4^  times  as  many  as 
in  1851). 

The  increase  was  made  up  as  follows : — 

1851.         1S61.         1871.         18S1. 


n  the  Bengal  Presidency    . 

14,177 

20,518 

46,968 

83,583 

Of  these  :  Kols  alone 

51 

2,400 

20,727 

50,367 

,,         Santals  alone  . 

905 

5,431 

n  the  Madras  Presidency  . 

74,176 

110,078 

160,955 

299,742 

Of  these  :  in  Travancore  and^ 
Cochin  j 

21,179 

30,607 

46,285 

59,959 

,,         in  Tinnevelly 

34,90s 

49,964 

58,167 

95,624 

The  last-mentioned  missions-fields  alone  contributed  in  1851 
7/9,  in  1861  8/1 1,  and  in  1871  3/5,  of  the  entire  numerical 
returns  for  this  Presidency,  and  even  in  1881  one  half,  or, 
in  round  numbers,  150,000  out  of  300,000.  Of  the  other  half 
there  were  claimed — 

By  the  American  Baptists  in  Telugu  Land      .  52,316 

By  the  L.M.S.  in  Telugu  Land         .         .         .  6,331 

By  the  C.M.S.          „„....  5,124 

By  the  American  Lutheran  Mission  at  Guntur  7,988 


A  total  of    71,759, 

or,  with  the  addition  of  lesser  Telugu  missions,  77,041  ;  that  is, 
more  than  half  of  the  1 50,000  remaining,  after  the  subtraction  of 
the  numbers  for  Travancore,  Cochin,  and  Tinnevelly,  were 
contributed  by  the  Nellore,  Cuddapah,  Godavari,  and  Vizaga- 
patam  districts  of  the  Telugu  country.  These  same  districts 
had  been  credited  during  the  decade  commencing  1871  with  a 
sum  total  of  only  15,393  Christians;  they  had  thus  increased 
fivefold. 

4.  Missions  in  India  To-Day  (from  1880) 

In  the  winter  of  1 875-1 876,  King  Edward  VII.  of  England,  at 
that  time  Prince  of  Wales,  paid  a  visit  to  this  the  greatest  of 
British  pos.sessions,  in  order  to  obtain  a  knowledge  of  it  by 
personal  acquaintance.     His  journey  was  a  brilliant  triumphal 


2  20  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

procession  through  the  country ;  princes  and  peoples  vied  with 
one  another  in  the  attempt  to  express  their  devotion  with  true 
Oriental  exuberance.  Although  warm  friends  of  missions  like 
Sir  Bartle  Frere  and  Canon  ■-Duckworth  were  in  immediate 
attendance  upon  the  Prince,  yet  hyper-cautious  Anglo-Indian 
statesmen  saw  to  it  that  he  was  kept  at  a  safe  distance  from 
contact  with  the  native  Christians.  Only  twice,  at  Tinnevelly  in 
the  south  and  at  Amritsar  in  the  north,  did  he  receive  an  official 
welcome  on  the  part  of  the  Christians.  Two  years  later,  on 
January  ist,  1877,  Queen  Victoria  assumed  the  title  of  Empress 
of  India.  Strangely  enough,  it  was  precisely  in  English 
missionary  circles  that  this  step  was  greatly  disapproved. 
Nevertheless,  we  cannot  but  recognise  that  it  was  in  harmony 
with  public  opinion,  because  the  new  title  was  soon  accepted 
throughout  India. 

It  is  no  light  matter  to  portray  these  modern  days,  in  the 
midst  of  whose  tumult  we  ourselves  stand,  with  the  same  sureness 
of  touch  as  we  felt  when  describing  the  periods  of  missionary 
history  now  closed.  Yet  there  are  a  number  of  striking  features 
which  force  themselves  upon  the  notice  of  the  observer. 

In  the  first  place,  there  is  the  general  remark  that  in  the 
last  quarter  of  a  century  Indian  missions  have  made  rapid 
progress,  especially  with  regard  to  the  number  of  foreigners 
engaged  in  them.  The  number  of  ordained  missionaries  ^  has 
increased  from  586  in  1881  to  976  in  1900,  i.e.  an  increase  of 
390  in  a  trifle  less  than  twenty  years  (whereas,  for  example,  in 
the  two  previous  decades,  i86i-i88r,  there  had  been  only  an 
increase  of  107).  In  addition  to  this,  the  number  of  women 
missionaries  has  gone  up  from  479  in  1881  to  1174  in  1900;  i.e. 
by  695,  or  2|  times  as  many.  An  almost  entirely  new  phase 
of  the  question  is  presented  by  the  appearance  of  265  male  or 
female  medical  missionaries.  Later  on  we  shall  consider  in 
detail  this  question  oi  personnel. 

Those  missionary  societies  which  have  already  been  a  long 
time  in  the  field  have  derived  far  and  away  the  greatest 
benefit  from  this  increase.  Thus  the  staff  of  the  Church 
Missionary  Society  has  risen  from  95  ordained  and  13  lay 
missionaries  in  1 881,  to  167  ordained  and  43  lay  missionaries 
(including  16  medicals)  in  1904;  within  the  last  twenty-five 
years,  therefore,  the  number  has  more  than  doubled.  It  has  been 
further  of  much  importance  to  the  Church  Missionary  Society  to 
have  an  independent  auxiliary  society  at  its  side,  viz.  the 
Church  of  England  Zenana  Missionary  Society  (in  missionary 
parlance  the  C.E.Z.M.S.),  which  came  into  being  in  1881.  Few 
societies  have  during  this  period  made  such  wonderful  progress 
^  In  India  alone,  not  including  Burma  or  Ceylon. 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  PROTESTANT  MISSIONS     221 

as  this  greatest  of  all  evangelical  missionary  societies ;  but  all  of 
them  have  grown,  and  to  a  greater  or  less  degree  this  increase 
has  everywhere  turned  to  the  advantage  of  Indian  missions. 

Alongside  the  older  societies  there  have  come  into  the  field 
a  positively  bewildering  number  of  new  missionary  organisations, 
to  such  an  extent  that  this  immense  multiplication  of  missionary 
effort  has  come  to  be  another  characteristic  feature  of  the  period 
under  discussion.  Through  its  commerce  with  all  countries 
India  has  been  brought  nearer  to  the  Christianity  of  the  West ; 
the  conditions  of  life  throughout  the  whole  country,  as  regards 
personal  safety,  railway,  postal  and  telegraphic  means  of  com- 
munication, even  in  the  remotest  mountain  villages,  are  com- 
paratively so  favourable  for  Europeans — even  for  single  ladies 
— and  British  rule  has  on  the  whole  created  such  remark- 
ably tempting  opportunities  for  missionary  work,  that  it  would 
be  hard  to  find  any  land  possessing  so  great  an  attraction 
for  the  missionary  societies  which  have  sprung  up  from  every 
quarter  of  Anglo-Saxon  Christendom  like  so  many  mushrooms. 
And  it  is  right  that  it  should  be  so ;  for  historically  considered 
it  cannot  be  doubted  that  the  evangelising  and  Christianising  of 
India  is  the  greatest  duty  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  race,  a  duty  for 
the  very  purpose  of  which  that  imperial  gem  has  been  entrusted 
to  the  English  people.  Yet  we  cannot  help  thinking  that  the 
Anglo-Saxons,  with  their  pronounced  spirit  of  independence, 
are  in  danger  of  aimlessly  scattering  their  energies  on  countless 
toy  missions  instead  of  grappling  with  the  mighty  task  in  serried 
strength. 

Amongst  the  missionary  bodies  that  have  come  upon  the 
scene  during  this  period  there  are  but  few  missionary  societies 
of  the  old  style.  In  our  opinion  the  most  important  of  these  is 
the  Schleswig-HolsteinMissionarySociety(i88i).  In  1883  its  first 
station  was  founded  at  Salur,  in  the  northern  Telugu  country ; 
Koraput  followed  in  1883;  and  in  1884  Kotapad  and  Jeypore 
in  the  neighbouring  protected  state  of  Jeypore.  It  already 
numbers  more  than  7000  Christians  and  2000  candidates  for 
baptism.  With  its  systematic  work  it  is,  in  spite  of  immense 
climatic  and  linguistic  difficulties,  a  standing  example  of  the 
great  success  which  attends  wisely  directed  operations  in  India 
even  though  they  are  backed  up  by  but  limited  funds — whilst 
numberless  other  societies  possessed  of  as  great  or  greater  means 
have  not  yet  got  beyond  the  experimental  and  elementary  stage. 

In  amongst  the  various  Baptist  societies  which  cluster  round 
the  entire  rim  of  the  Bay  of  Bengal,  from  Madras  in  the  west 
to  Rangoon  and  Tavoy  in  the  east — the  greatest  continuous 
missionary  field  of  societies  to  all  intents  and  purposes  identical 
which  India  has  to  show — there  have  now  stepped  in  to  work 


2  22  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

hand  in  hand  with  the  English  Baptists  in  East  Bengal  a 
number  of  Baptist  missionary  organisations  from  almost  every 
Australasian  colony,  all  of  them,  unfortunately,  independent  one 
of  another:  in  1882,  the  South  Australian  Baptists;  in  1885,  the 
Baptists  of  Victoria,  Queensland,  New  Zealand,  and  New  South 
Wales;  in  1887,  those  of  Tasmania.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
Danish  American  Baptists,  or  so-called  Tunkers,^  commenced  a 
small  cause  at  Gujarat,  in  the  district  of  Surat  and  Broach. 

In  1894  some  young  missionaries  separated  themselves,  on 
dogmatic  and  other  grounds,  from  the  Leipzig  Tamil  Mission, 
and  went  to  assist  the  Missouri  Society  from  North  America. 
The  latter  made  the  most  of  its  opportunity,  and  established  in 
the  N.-W.  Tamil  country  a  mission  of  its  own  :  Krishnagiri 
(1895),  Ambur  (1896),  Vaniyambadi  (1897),  and  Barugur  (1898). 
The  Disciples  of  Christ,  or  Campbellites,  from  North  America, 
began  in  1882  a  new  mission  (Bilaspur,  Mungeli,  etc.),  in  the 
eastern  part  of  the  Central  Provinces,  close  to  the  district 
served  by  the  German  Evangelical  Synod.  In  the  same  neigh- 
bourhood there  have  settled  two  closely  connected  branches  of 
the  Mennonites,  and  at  the  same  time  founded  several  stations 
in  Chattisghar. 

A  new  and  wholly  unique  feature  in  Indian  missions  is 
afforded  by  the  appearance  of  various  High  Church  ritualistic 
brotherhoods,  which  for  the  most  part  observe  the  Benedictine 
rule  of  voluntary  celibacy  and  community  of  goods,  and  have 
chosen  the  large  towns  and  commercial  centres  as  their  sphere 
of  activity.  The  semi-Catholic  order  of  the  "  Cowley  Fathers," 
or  the  Society  of  St.  John  the  Evangelist,  had  been  in  existence 
since  the  year  1865  ;  in  1870  it  extended  its  operations  to  India 
and  created  missionary  bases  in  Poona  and  Bombay.  Hand 
in  hand  with  it  in  Bombay  works  the  Sisterhood  of  All  Saints, 
in  Poona  the  Sisterhood  of  St.  Mary,  Wantage.  In  allusion 
to  their  Poona  establishment  they  have  been  familiarly  called 
"  The  Panch  Howds  Mission " !  The  Cambridge  Mission  was 
founded  by  graduates  of  the  University  of  Cambridge  at  Delhi 
in  the  year  1877,  and  it  has  taken  over  and  extended  the  work  of 
the  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel  in  that  city — a 
work  that  had  been  going  on  since  1854.  On  January  6th,  1881, 
the  Oxford  Brotherhood  of  the  Epiphany  began  work  in 
Calcutta,  more  especially  amongst  those  Bengali  babus  who  had 
received  an  English  training.  In  1892  the  Dublin  University 
Mission  was  established  at  Hazaribagh,  in  Chota  Nagpur,  and 
began  to  work  hand  in  hand  with  the  small  High  Anglican 
Mission  to  the  Kols.     In   1896,  without  special  connection  with 

^  The  General  Missionary  Committee  of  the  German  Baptist  Brethren  Church 
(the  Dunkards). 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  PROTESTANT  MISSIONS     223 

any  particular  University,  a  fifth  missionary  Brotherhood  was 
founded  in  Cawnpore,  more  especially  by  the  family  of  Bishop 
Westcott,  the  eminent  new  Testament  commentator;  this 
Brotherhood  identified  itself  with  the  work  of  the  Society  for  the 
Propagation  of  the  Gospel  as  closely  as  that  in  Delhi  had  done, 
and  like  it  eventually  assumed  direction  of  the  S.P.G.  work  at 
Cawnpore — which  had  been  commenced  in  1833. 

With  sound  of  cymbals  and  in  its  customary  self-advertising 
fashion  the  Salvation  Army  first  put  in  an  appearance  in  India 
in  1883.  The  Calcutta  police  endeavoured  to  put  a  stop  to 
their  spectacular  processions ;  but  no  less  a  personage  than 
Chunder  Sen,  the  apostle  of  the  Brahmo  Samaj,  made  an 
appeal  for  the  freedom  granted  to  every  religious  community 
in  India  to  exercise  its  religion  according  to  its  own  accustomed 
forms,  and  established  the  point  that  freedom  of  action  should 
be  granted  to  the  Salvation  Army.  "  Major  "  Tucker  was  im- 
prisoned for  a  month  in  Bombay,  but  there  also  the  police  were 
compelled  to  give  way.  The  Salvation  Army  was  thus  enabled 
to  proceed  unhindered  with  its  plan  of  "  taking  India  by  storm, 
after  the  Churches  with  their  drowsy  methods  had  well-nigh 
fallen  asleep."  It  laid  itself  out  to  attract  attention.  Its 
representatives  adopted  the  scanty  dress  of  the  Indian  fakir, 
and  often  tramped  barefoot  and  with  great  self-denial  through 
the  land  ;  but  they  proselytised  most  ruthlessly  amongst  the 
already  existing  Christian  communities  and  sent  exaggerated 
accounts  of  their  victories  to  the  homeland.  Nevertheless,  in 
spite  of  many  competent  leaders  and  much  devotion,  they  were 
ere  long  destined  to  find  out  that  nothing  can  be  accomplished 
in  India  by  "  zeal  not  according  to  knowledge,"  and  that  incon- 
siderate judgments  upon,  and  intermeddling  with  other  missions 
only  result  in  injury  to  the  great  object  upon  which  all  eyes  are 
set.  Although  they  claimed  to  "  have  accomplished  more  as 
fakirs  in  one  year  than  all  the  missionaries  as  sahibs  had  done 
in  fifty,"  the  number  of  their  adherents,  according  to  the  official 
census  returns,  only  reached  1138  in  1890  and  18,847  in  1901  — 
of  whom  7569  were  in  South  India,  and  of  the  latter  number 
only  2537  were  "  soldiers." 

In  1887  the  International  Christian  Alliance  began  its  work 
in  India,  likewise  with  much  parade.  It  established  itself  in 
Berar,  where  for  the  past  fifteen  years  various  unattached 
missionaries  had  laboured  more  or  less  temporarily.  Many  of 
these  were  enrolled  in  the  free-and-easy  organisation  of  the 
Alliance,  which  now  promised  with  fifty  missionaries  to  evan- 
gelise the  whole  of  Berar  and  its  three  million  inhabitants 
within  five  years.  How  little  has  come  of  it  !  There  are,  it  is 
true,  eight  stations  in  the  north  of  Berar,  four  in  the  west  in  the 


2  24  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

adjacent  district  of  Khandesh,  and  five  others  in  Gujarat. 
In  Bombay,  the  entrance  gate  to  its  domain,  are  its  head- 
quarters, called  the  Beracha  Home  ("  Home  of  Blessing "). 
The  Alliance  can  thus  in  point  of  fact  lay  claim  to  eighteen 
stations ;  but  most  of  them  are  small,  and  the  numerical  results 
in  1 90 1 — after  fourteen  years'  work — were,  according  to  its 
own  reports,  1308  adherents,  or,  according  to  the  Missionary 
Census,  1700. 

We  have  already  pointed  out  that  North  Berar,  with  its 
fairly  large  but  scattered  aboriginal  population,  is  a  favourite 
field  for  unattached  missionaries.  It  was  here  that  the 
American  Methodist,  A.  Norton,  settled,  first  in  Ellichpur,  and 
afterwards  at  Baesdehi.  At  Basim  Miss  Drake  laboured  from 
1879  onwards,  attracting  many  other  young  ladies  to  the  work, 
such  as  e.g.  the  devoted  Miss  Wheeler.  Andrew  Fuller  under- 
took preaching  tours  in  this  neighbourhood.  In  connection 
with  this  sporadic  pioneer  work  is  the  Kurku  and  Central 
Indian  Hill  Mission,  constituted  in  London  in  1890,  which 
commenced  work  at  Ellichpur,  and  in  time  was  able  to 
establish  four  other  stations. 

If  in  the  two  last-named  organisations  there  is  scarcely  a 
question  of  any  central  governing  authority,  still  less  shall  we 
find  the  slightest  trace  of  such  in  the  case  of  the  loose  con- 
glomerate of  missionaries  who  call  themselves  "  Open  Brethren," 
or  simply  "  Christians,"  and  who  belong  ecclesiastically  to  the 
"  Plymouth  Brethren,"  or  the  Darbyites.  They  occupy  three 
principal  spheres  of  influence  and  a  number  of  isolated  posts. 
Their  oldest  mission  field,  the  Godavari  delta,  was  occupied 
in  1857  at  the  instigation  of  an  unattached  missionary  named 
Anthony  Groves  ;  here  the  two  pioneers,  C.  H.  Beer  and  E.  S. 
Bowden,  together  with  members  of  their  families,  have  laboured 
quietly  and  faithfully  for  the  whole  of  the  past  half-century. 
During  the  last  ten  years  they  have  been  joined  by  many 
missionaries  and  still  more  lady  missionaries :  their  stations  are 
Narsapur,  Chittapetta,  Amalapuram,  Dowlaishvaram,  Banda- 
rulanka,  and  Tatipaka.  Their  second  group  of  workers  is 
associated  with  the  unattached  mission  founded  in  1872  at 
Jamtara  (Santalia)  by  Cornelius,  the  converted  barman  ;  and 
here  they  have  obtained  a  solid  footing  in  Maijam,  Kharmatar, 
Sagjuria,  Kadhar,  and  Banka;  each  station  is  a  self-contained 
"  Christian  Mission."  The  third  and  larger  group  of  stations 
is  situated  in  the  south  of  the  Mysore;  it  includes  Collegal, 
Kamageri,  Malvalli,  Talkad,  Gunjur,  and  we  ought  also  to 
add  Coimbatore,  in  the  Tamil  country,  where  Bird,  a  Darbyite 
gospeller,  is  located.  Among  this  loose  confederacy  are  further 
the  "Christian  Missions"  of  Solapuram  (since  1888  at  Tinne- 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  PROTESTANT  MISSIONS     225 

velly;  with  it  is  closely  connected  the  unattached  mission  of 
the  enthusiastic  Tamil  Arulappen  at  Christianpetta),  Belgaum 
(1891),  Sulga  (1901),  Parur  (near  Shoranur,  1897),  and  Kunnan- 
kulam  (in  Cochin,  1903).  The  Open  Brethren  have  a  joint 
magazine,  Echoes  of  the  Service,  through  whose  instrument- 
ality the  gifts  of  friends  of  the  missions  are  conveyed  to  them. 
Every  member  of  their  staff  is  a  "  faith  "  missionary  ;  i.e.,  apart 
from  any  private  means  he  may  have,  he  is  dependent  on  the 
promiscuous  gifts  which  his  reports  may  bring  in.  This  system 
generally  involves  great  privations. 

In  addition  to  those  just  named,  the  number  of  actually 
unattached  missionaries,  or,  as  they  now  prefer  to  term  them- 
selves, "  faith  missionaries,"  is  so  large  that  to  avoid  confusion 
we  must  enumerate  them  according  to  provinces.  In  Bengal 
we  find  the  "  Chinsurah  and  Hooghly  Zenana  Mission"  (1875), 
where  Miss  Raikes  carries  on  her  school  and  zenana  work. 
At  Howrah,  a  well-known  suburb  of  Calcutta,  a  Zenana  Mission 
was  founded  in  1900  by  the  "  VVeinbrennerians,"  or  "  Church  of 
God,"  a  sect  established  by  J.  Weinbrenner  in  1830.  In 
Ranaghat,  the  district  adjacent  to  the  Church  Missionary 
Society's  centre  at  Krishnagar,  a  splendid  medical  mission  was 
started  in  1893  by  Jas.  Monro,  a  former  chief  of  the  London 
police  ;  this  is  for  the  most  part  worked  by  members  and  friends 
of  his  family  at  their  own  charges.  This  independent  mission 
was  affiliated  to  the  Church  Missionary  Society  on  January 
1st,  1906.  In  1899  an  "  Indian  Baptist  Missionary  Society  "  was 
founded  in  Bengal,  which  laboured  in  Eastern  Bengal  and  the 
United  Provinces  by  means  of  native  helpers.  On  the  northern 
frontier  of  Bengal  the  Tibetan  Pioneer  Mission,  practically 
carried  on  by  Miss  Annie  Taylor,  for  she  has  been  deserted  by 
almost  all  her  colleagues,  is  busily  seeking  to  force  an  entrance 
into  Tibet.  Not  far  away,  at  Ghoom,  near  Darjeeling,  the 
"  Himalayan  Branch  of  the  American  and  Scandinavian 
Alliance"  has  located  itself  (1895)  ^^'^^  carries  on  evangelistic 
work  among  Tibetans  and  Gurkhas.  Darjeeling  is  the  head- 
quarters of  the  "  Nepal  Mission  "  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Innes  Wright, 
who  are  seeking  to  find  an  entrance  to  the  still  closed  mountain 
districts  of  Nepal.  At  Jamalpore  in  Bengal  lives  the  secretary 
of  the  "Indian  Railway  Mission"  (1898),  which  works  among 
railway  officials  and  employees,  though  rather  among  Europeans 
and  Eurasians  than  among  the  Hindus.  In  the  western  division 
of  Bengal,  Bihar,  the  "  Regions  Beyond  Mission,"  founded  in  1899 
by  Dr.  Grattan  Guinness  of  London,  has  located  itself  at  Motihari. 
At  Saripat  Purunia  (not  to  be  confused  wnth  Purulid),  in  the 
Bankura  district  of  Bengal,  several  unattached  missionaries, 
Mr.    and    Mrs.    Zook,    Mr.   and    Mrs.    Martin,    Mr.   and    Mrs. 

15 


220  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

Sparrow,  have  founded  the  "  Premananda  Faith  Orphanage," 
and  seven  miles  farther  west  they  have  opened  at  Raghunathpur, 
in  the  Manbhum  district,  the  "  Hephzibah  EvangeHstic  Mission  " 
(1902).  They  are  connected  with  the  "  American  Brethren  in 
Christ."  In  the  low-lying  plain  of  Eastern  Bengal  the  "  Bengal 
Evangelical  Mission  "  has  been  at  work  since  1874  at  Gopalganj ; 
this  was  founded  by  the  converted  Bengali,  Mathura  Nath 
Bose,  and  since  his  death  in  1901  has  been  carried  on  by  other 
native  workers.  In  Assam  there  originated  in  1891  the 
"  Assam  Frontier  Pioneer  Mission,"  which  carries  on  work 
among  the  Abors,  a  mountain  tribe,  among  whom  at  Sadija 
the  two  unattached  missionaries,  Lorrain  and  Savage,  both 
originally  sent  out  by  Mr.  Arthington,  took  up  their  quarters. 
From  1889  R.  Arthington  carried  on  a  mission  in  the  same 
neighbourhood  at  his  own  cost  amongst  another  of  the  hill 
tribes,  through  a  number  of  missionaries  whom  he  had  sent  out. 
At  the  death  of  this  generous  man  (1900)  the  English  Baptist 
Missionary  Society  united  these  scattered  mission  posts  under 
the  name  of  the  "  Arthington  Missions." 

In  the  Tamil  country  the  American  Adventists  located  them- 
selves in  1 882  at  Madras,  alongside  the  multiple  missionary  organ- 
isations already  at  work  in  that  city.  Also  at  Madras  we  find 
the  "  South  Indian  Railway  Mission,"  which  seeks  to  spread 
the  gospel  by  distributing  books  and  tracts  in  the  trains  which 
are  ever  crowded  with  Tamils.  Af  Panruti,  near  Cuddalore, 
the  "South  Arcot  Highways  and  Hedges  Mission"  of  Miss 
F,  M.  Reade  has  been  in  existence  since  1875.  In  the  west 
Tamil  country  the  "  Ceylon  and  Indian  General  Mission,"  founded 
in  1894,  carries  on  work  at  Coimbatore,  Coonoor,  Bangalore, 
and  other  places,  both  amongst  the  very  numerous  Eurasians 
and  the  Hindus.  At  Ootacamund,  on  the  Nilgiri  Hills,  the 
former  Danish  missionary,  Koefoed,  has  maintained  an 
independent  work  since  1892,  In  the  same  neighbourhood  a 
Mr.  J.  A.  Samuel,  probably  a  converted  Tamil  or  a  Eurasian,  has 
founded  a  "  Nilgiri  Evangelistic  Mission"  (1894)  to  evangelise 
the  Nilgiri  hill  tribes  or  the  Tamil  coolies.  At  Travancore 
a  Mr.  Gregson  has  laboured  since  the  year  1900,  and  has  had 
no  inconsiderable  success  {Echoes  of  Service,  1903,  p.  Gj^. 

In  Berar  and  the  adjoining  Central  Provinces  the  following 
bodies  are  at  work,  in  addition  to  those  that  have  been  already 
mentioned:  The  "Pentecostal  Mission,"  since  1898  at  Buldana 
(Berar) ;  the  "  American  Mennonites,"  also  since  1 898  at  Dhamtari 
(Central  Provinces);  and  the  "  Balaghat  Mission,"  since  1894  at 
Baihair,  in  the  Balaghat  District  (Central  Provinces).  In  Poona 
and  the  neighbourhood,  the  "  Poona  and  India  Village  Mission," 
founded  by  a  New  Zealander,  Mr.  Reeve,  in  1893,  's  most  busily 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  PROTESTANT  MISSIONS     227 

engas^ed  ;  in  1901  this  mission  employed  eighteen  evangelists  and 
twehe  women  missionaries,  mostly  from  Australia,  and  carried 
on  extensive  itinerant  preaching.  In  Bombay,  Toona,  and  the 
neighbouring  Khedgaon  the  Brahman  widow,  Pandita  Ramabai, 
has  since  1899  carried  on  her  richly  blessed  work  amongst 
the  widows  of  India,  especially  those  of  the  higher  classes, 
In  1903  two  unattached  English  missionaries,  Storries  and  De 
Carteret,  began  a  mission  at  Chandgad,  24  miles  from  Belgaum. 

In  the  province  of  Gujarat,  working  hand  in  hand  with  the 
Irish  Presbyterians, we  find  the  "Jungle  Tribes  Mission"  (1890), 
likewise  supported  by  Irish  subscriptions.  In  Bombay  there 
has  existed  since  1894  an  independent  "Native  Mission."  In 
North  India  there  is  the  "  North  India  School  of  Medicine 
for  Christian  Women  "  at  Ludhiana,  in  the  Punjab.  In  the  hot 
jungles  near  Multan,  Major-General  Montague  Millet,  an 
officer  on  the  retired  list,  conducted  an  unattached  mission 
from  1887  to  1 90 1  at  his  own  expense — mostly  at  Kacha 
Khuh.  He  was  a  truly  devoted  man,  but  was  undoubtedly 
one  of  those  men  who  are  destined  to  work  alone.  He  sent 
out  multitudes  of  missives,  both  big  and  little,  through  the 
post,  held  Bible-readings,  ran  a  small  hospital,  and  engaged 
in  many  similar  undertakings.  In  like  fashion  the  Hon.  M. 
Waldegrave  carried  on  mission  work  at  Peshawar,  partly  in 
connection  with  the  Church  Missionary  Society.  At  Bharatpur, 
the  capital  of  a  former  important  Rajput  state  lying  to  the 
west  of  Agra,  a  Miss  Fowler  superintends  an  independent 
mission.  At  Allahabad,  an  Indian  Christian  lady.  Miss  Shorat 
Chakarbutty,  who  is  by  the  way  an  Indian  M.A.,  founded  in 
1895  the  "Victoria  Girls'  Home"  for  famine  orphans,  and  in 
order  to  support  this  a  missionary  association,  "  The  Associa- 
tion of  the  Daughters  of  India."  On  the  slopes  of  the  Himalayas 
at  Almora  and  Kalimali,  in  the  United  Provinces,  the  "  Christian 
Realm  Mission  "  has  been  occupied  in  the  evangelisation  of  the 
people  since  1897,  though  for  the  time  being  its  sole  directorate 
consists  of  one  European  lay  agent,  an  Indian  clergyman,  and 
thirty-four  native  helpers. 

This  register  of  unattached  missionaries  and  organisations 
is  incomplete.  Many  of  these  missions  are  only  mentioned 
occasionally  in  the  press,  others  not  at  all.  Many  cease  to 
exist  at  the  death  of  their  founder,  through  lack  of  support, 
or  for  other  reasons ;  and  as  in  many  cases  their  results  are 
such  as  cannot  be  tabulated,  it  must  not  be  deemed  too  great 
a  lack  in  a  history  of  Indian  Missions  if  all  the  flowers  which 
bloom  in  hidden  places  to  the  glory  of  the  Lord  are  not  here 
classified  and  tabulated.  On  the  whole  question  we  are 
unfortunately  compelled  to  adopt  the  verdict  of  a  deputation 


22  8  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

sent  by  the  American  Board,  which  certainly  at  the  outset 
was  anything  but  unsympathetic  towards  unattached  missionary 
work :  "  We  must  express  our  conviction,  based  upon  what 
we  have  seen,  that  the  so-called  '  independent  missions '  spend 
a  great  deal  of  money  to  no  purpose,  and  in  the  majority  of 
cases  meet  with  but  little  success,  even  if  they  do  not  directly 
hinder  the  progress  of  the  kingdom  of  God." 

There  still  remain  two  important  groups  of  organisations 
for  the  sending  out  of  missionaries,  concerning  both  of  which 
unfortunately  information  is  likewise  faulty.  The  first  is  that 
of  the  Diocesan  Boards  of  the  Anglican  bishoprics,  whereof 
more  anon.  In  the  second  place,  all  the  missionary  societies 
that  have  already  met  with  considerable  success,  in  the  shape 
of  a  consolidated  Christian  community,  endeavour  to  impress 
upon  these  communities  the  sacred  duty  of  bringing  the  Good 
News  to  the  knowledge  of  their  fellow-countrymen.  A  number 
of  these  Indian  Christian  Churches  have  for  this  purpose 
established  more  or  less  self-supporting  missionary  agencies 
of  their  own.  For  the  present  almost  all  such  associations 
should  be  regarded  rather  as  signs  of  life  on  the  part  of  such 
Churches  than  as  being  important  because  of  their  missionary 
results  ;  they  may  therefore  be  left  to  the  special  missionary 
history  of  individual  districts. 

In  any  case,  the  -missionary  organisation  of  India  has 
become  so  complicated  through  this  bewildering  multiplicity 
of  missionary  enterprises  that  even  an  expert  can  no  longer 
gain  a  complete  grasp  of  the  whole  subject,  nor  can  we  hope 
in  this  History  to  give  anything  like  an  exhaustive  account 
thereof ! ^ 

Certain  it  is  that  the  number  of  agencies  working  in  India 
is  rapidly  on  the  increase.  The  Missionary  Census  of  1851 
recorded  nineteen  missionary  societies  and  eleven  unattached 
missionaries;  that  of  1861,  twenty-three  societies  and  eight 
unattached  missionaries;  in  1871  there  were  twenty-eight 
societies  and  nine  unattached  missionaries;  in  1881,  thirty- 
eight  and  four;  in  1891,  forty-four  and  nine;  and  in  1901, 
seventy-three  societies  and  a  vast  number  of  missionaries 
unconnected  with  any  particular  organisation. 

This  being  so,  it  is  all  the  more  necessary  for  those  mission- 
ary societies  which  work  side  by  side  to  have  due  regard  for 
one  another,  and  mutually  to  respect  one  another's  frontiers 
and  communities.  This  is  the  more  important  because  the 
practice  of  the  various  societies  is  widely  different  not  only 
with  regard  to  baptism  and  church  discipline,  but  also  in  almost 

1  We  shall  be  grateful  to  readers  of  these  pages  for  any  reliable  information  re 
other  unattached  missions  or  independent  workers. 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  PROTESTANT  MISSIONS     229 

every  question  of  missionary  and  ecclesiastical  polity.  The 
unhappily  only  too  frequent  breaches  of  missionary  comity 
compose  one  of  the  dark  chapters  of  Indian  missionary  history. 
Yet  such  incidents  are  unfortunately  all  too  frequent,  as  every 
one  intimately  connected  with  the  respective  divisions  of  territory 
on  the  mission  field  is  well  aware.  Historic  boundaries  have 
been  ignored,  local  feeling  has  been  ruthlessly  set  aside,  and 
flagrant  inroads  have  been  made  upon  the  domains  of  other 
societies. 

Such  conduct  is  to  us  incapable  of  explanation.  It  is  possible 
that  certain  sections  of  the  missionary  army  of  Christ  in  India 
regard  themselves  as  the  sole  Divinely  commissioned  and  com- 
petent societies  at  work  there.  But  what  can  we  think  of 
claims  of  this  nature  when  we  see  such  societies  baptizing 
without  the  slightest  hesitation  groups  of  candidates  for  baptism 
belonging  to  other  missions,  and  locating  themselves  in  the 
very  centre  of  districts  which  have  been  diligently  worked  by 
other  agencies  for  many  years  past?  What  charity  is  here? 
What  kindness?     What  brotherly  love? 

It  is  scandalous  that  one  society  should  entice  away 
the  catechists  of  another,  perhaps  by  a  promise  of  a  higher 
salary  or  quicker  promotion,  or  that  it  should  receive  and 
appoint  to  office  native  Christians  or  catechists  who  are  for 
the  time  being  under  the  church  discipline  of  another  society. 
Yet  even  so  late  as  the  Bombay  Missionary  Conference  of  1892 
it  was  found  to  be  impossible  to  secure  united  action  against 
such  disorders  or  to  find  a  remedy  for  them.  The  most  that 
could  be  done  was  to  pass  a  resolution  to  the  effect  that  no 
society  should  henceforth  accept  members  or  officials  from 
any  other  missionary  society  without  first  communicating  with 
the  headquarters  of  the  society  in  question.  The  Madras 
Conference  of  1902,  however,  went  a  good  bit  farther  than  this. 
Subject  to  certain  reservations  and  limitations,  it  affirmed  the 
principle  of  territorial  division  in  missionary  work,  and  appointed 
a  Court  of  Arbitration,  upon  which  was  conferred  power  to 
intervene  in  all  cases  where  one  society  should  make  inroads 
in  the  special  sphere  of  another.  This  Court  of  Arbitration 
has  already  proved  itself  to  be  of  wholesome  value  on  several 
occasions.  For  example,  the  Weinbrennerians  (the  Church  of 
God)  wished  to  occupy  the  State  of  Jashpur  in  Chota  Nagpur, 
lying  to  the  west  of  Biru ;  Gossner's  missionaries,  however, 
affirmed  that  they  had  a  prior  claim  to  it,  as  this  State  was 
within  their  own  sphere  of  influence  —  and  the  Court  of 
Arbitration  supported  their  claim. 

Missionary  conferences  too,  especially  the  General  Con- 
ference for  the  whole  of  India,  Burma,  and  Ceylon,  became  of 


2  30  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

much  greater  importance  under  these  new  conditions.  They 
have  been  held  in  Calcutta  in  1882,  Bombay  in  1892,  and 
Madras  in  1902.  In  the  last-named  city  an  important  South 
India  Conference  met  in  1900. 

There  is  also  another  aspect  in  which  during  the  last  quarter 
of  a  century  the  organisation  of  Indian  missions  has  become 
incomparably  more  complicated  than  before,  namely  in  the 
manifold  diversity  of  the  work  now  carried  on.  Down  to  1830 
there  was  only  one  universally  recognised  branch  of  work 
carried  on  in  one  form  or  another  by  every  missionary — the 
proclamation  of  the  gospel  by  means  of  the  preached  or  written 
word.  Since  Dr.  Duff's  powerful  personality  appeared  on  the 
scene  in  1830,  a  second  branch  of  activity  has  gradually  and 
after  much  difficulty  won  for  itself  a  recognised  position  in 
missionary  work,  namely  educational  work.  After  the  Mutiny 
in  1857  women  missionaries  made  their  appearance,  at  first 
timidly,  but  after  1880  in  great  numbers,  and  with  great 
multiplicity  of  gifts ;  by  zenana  work,  girls'  schools,  and 
women's  hospitals,  they  have  opened  up  new  paths.  In  the 
last  twenty-five  years  three  further  branches  have  come  to  be 
almost  generally  recognised :  medical  missions,  industrial 
missions,  and  homes  and  boarding  schools  for  famine  orphans. 
No  one  of  these  branches  is  new,  but  as  to  how  and  why  they 
have  recently  pushed  their  way  into  the  foreground  of  the 
work,  information  will  be  given  later. 

This  complexity  is  connected,  at  any  rate  in  part,  with 
three  movements  which  have  especially  characterised  Indian 
missionary  work  in  our  own  day.  Just  as  the  characteristic 
feature  of  the  previous  quarter  of  a  century  had  been  to  attempt 
on  all  hands  to  come  into  contact  with  the  aborigines  in  their 
mountain  and  forest  fastnesses,  so  to  an  even  greater  extent 
has  a  distinguishing  feature  of  this  last  decade  been  an  effort 
to  reach  the  very  lowest  classes  of  the  people,  the  lowest 
castes  and  the  outcastes,  or,  as  they  are  nowadays  styled,  the 
Panchamas  (the  fifth  order).  According  to  the  old  Indian 
conception  as  set  forth  in  the  laws  of  Manu,  Indian  society  is 
divisible  into  four  orders :  Brahmans,  Kshatriyas,  Vaishyas,  and 
Sudras.  A  new  name,  coined  by  the  Government  but  willingly 
taken  up  by  the  missionaries,  helps  to  differentiate  yet  a  fifth 
order.  Formerly  it  was  the  custom  to  label  the  classes  com- 
prising this  order  "  Pariah,"  but  this  word  was  far  from  being 
a  suitable  one ;  for  it  only  really  belongs  to  a  distinct  ca.ste- 
group  in  the  Tamil  country,  and  even  in  the  various  parts  of 
that  wide  area  it  connotes  very  different  social  and  civil  con- 
ditions, varying  from  a  state  of  servile  bondage  to  that  of  a 
modest  peasantry  living  on  its  own  freehold  property.     "  Pariah" 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  PROTESTANT  MISSIONS     231 

is  a  term  not  found  in  the  other  languages  or  among  the  other 
peoples  of  India. 

It  is  therefore  desirable  that  this  new  and  less  invidious 
term  should  be  universally  adopted.  For  the  theory  which 
used  to  be  held,  that  these  Panchamas  are  ethnographically 
and  philologically  different  from  both  the  higher  castes  among 
which  they  live  and  from  the  aborigines  of  the  neighbouring 
hill  country,  has  been  proved  to  be  erroneous.  Progressive 
ethnological  research  has  rather  demonstrated  that  the  so-called 
Dravidian  peoples  were  in  the  very  earliest  times  -split  up  into 
numerous  clans  relatively  independent  of  one  another.  Certain 
of  these  clans  early  submitted  to  the  onward  rush  of  Aryan 
civilisation,  and  by  means  of  a  broader  intellectual  life  were 
uplifted  both  socially  and  economically.  Other  clans  resisted 
the  new  stream  of  alien  culture  for  centuries,  but  being  eventually 
unable  to  oppose  the  overwhelming  advance  of  Hinduism,  have 
become  the  lower  stratum,  the  bonded  serfs  of  Hindu  society. 
The  so-called  aborigines  of  the  present  day  are  the  last 
remnants  of  those  who  have  longest  withstood  this  progressive 
Hinduisation  of  the  country.  The  lot  which  lies  before  them 
when  they  become  part  and  parcel  of  Hinduism  is  indeed  a 
sad  one.  From  its  world  of  higher  culture,  from  contact  with 
its  upper  castes,  with  its  idols,  its  temples,  its  literature,  they 
are  debarred;  not  the  least  effort  is  made  to  uplift  them  in 
any  single  direction ;  rather  are  they  in  every  way  victimised 
and  exploited ;  and  in  their  feeble  religious  thought  world  they 
remain,  for  the  most  part  true  to  the  barren,  hopeless  devil- 
worship  of  their  ancestors,  save  only  that  as  their  position  in 
life  has  been  less  favourable  and  their  opportunities  less 
numerous,  so  have  their  devils  become  the  more  mischievous 
and  their  devil-worship  the  more  horrible. 

From  the  first,  missions  have  gained  a  not  inconsiderable 
number  of  their  converts  from  among  the  Panchamas.  Both  in  the 
orphanages  of  North  India  and  in  the  native  churches  of  the  Tamil 
country  and  the  Malayalam  country  they  have  always  composed 
a  fairly  numerous  though  unascertainable  percentage  of  the  whole 
number  of  adherents.  Yet  the  main  attack  of  missions  has  not 
been  directed  against  them,  but  rather  against  the  middle  and 
higher  classes.  The  Panchamas  have  simply  not  been  rejected 
when  they  have  happened  to  come  into  contact  with  Christian 
missions  and  have  been  attracted  to  them.  And  on  the  whole 
the  Panchamas  have  not  formed  any  very  large  part  of  the 
Protestant  Christian  community.  According  to  tradition,  three- 
quarters  of  the  Christians  in  the  congregations  of  the  old  Danish 
Mission  were  Sudras.  In  the  mass  movements,  in  Tinnevelly 
and  in  connection  with  the  London  Missionary  Society  in  South 


2  32  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

Travancore,  those  who  were  added  to  the  Church  were  almost 
exclusively  Shanans,  i.e.  lower  Sudras,  who  would  have  regarded 
it  as  an  insult  to  be  reckoned  as  Panchamas.  Of  the  252  church 
members  in  full  communion  belonging  to  the  Maratha  Mission 
of  the  American  Board  in  1854,  43  belonged  to  the  highest 
castes,  and  1 5  were  converted  Brahmans  (Anderson's  History  of 
India,  p.  251).  Also  of  the  91,000  native  Christians  in  1851, 
almost  two-thirds  were  Sudras.  In  the  subsequent  quarter  of  a 
century  there  was  a  great  influx  of  aborigines,  but  nowhere  was 
any  considerable  number  of  Panchamas  recorded.  Since  the 
great  famine  of  1 876-1 879,  however,  things  have  been  different. 
It  was  at  that  time  that  the  great  mass  movement  of  the  Mala 
and  Madiga  castes  in  the  Telugu  country  occurred.  They  really 
made  it  evident  to  the  missionary  societies  for  the  first  time 
what  harvests  might  be  garnered  in  from  amongst  these  hitherto 
almost  neglected  classes.  And  just  as  twenty-five  years  earlier 
the  movement  in  Chota  Nagpur  had  been  a  trumpet-call  to 
the  entire  Indian  missionary  world,  so  now  was  this  streaming 
in  of  the  Malas  and  Madigas.  It  was  felt  that  a  new  era 
imposed  a  new  responsibility  upon  the  various  missions.  The 
Panchamas,  downtrodden  by  the  higher  castes  and  by  Hindus 
as  much  as  by  Muhammadans,  began  to  dimly  realise  that 
Protestant  missions  were  stretching  out  a  hand  to  save  them 
from  their  misery.  They  saw  that  those  castes  which  joined  the 
missionaries  had  their  hungry  fed,  their  sick  healed,  their 
children  taught,  their  young  men  lucratively  employed  either  in 
the  service  of  missions  or  in  that  of  the  Government,  and  that 
an  increasing  number  of  men  and  women  of  their  own  standing 
were  working  their  way  up  to  positions  which  had  been  wholly 
inaccessible  to  their  fathers.  Was  it  then  such  a  wonderful 
thing  that,  as  far  as  they  were  capable  of  independent  thought 
and  decision  amid  the  dull  barrenness  of  their  enslaved  existence, 
they  should  conceive  the  idea  of  joining  the  Christian  Church, 
and  that  not  in  ones  or  twos,  but  in  whole  masses  ?  But  an 
equally  serious  decision  had  to  be  made  by  the  missionary 
societies.  Hitherto  they  had  considered  it  their  duty  simply  to 
preach  the  gospel  to  India,  and  to  preach  it  in  such  a  forceful 
and  comprehensible  fashion  as  to  bring  about  crises  in  the 
national  life.  For  such  crises  they  had  waited  and  hoped  and 
prayed.  Suddenly  they  heard  knocking  at  their  doors  a  vast 
multitude  of  poor  miserable  mendicants  imploring  help,  whose 
intellectual  capacity  was  so  imperfectly  developed  that  the  truth 
of  the  gospel  must  be  preached  to  them  in  the  very  simjilest 
way.  Those  at  the  head  of  missionary  work  in  the  country  said 
amongst  themselves  that  to  respond  to  these  masses  of  people 
would  involve  an  educational  undertaking  of  the  first  magnitude. 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  PROTESTANT  MISSIONS      233 

Such  hosts  of  mankind  would  be  a  disgrace  to  Christianity,  if  it 
could  not  uplift  them  in  every  way,  spiritually,  morally,  in- 
tellectually, socially  and  economically,  and  that  despite  all  the 
obstacles  which  the  higher  castes  would  naturally  place  in  the 
upward  path  of  their  quondam  slaves  ;  despite  all  the  hindrances 
resulting  from  the  depravity  and  degradation  of  past  ages,  their 
weak  moral  character,  the  beggarliness  and  brutishness  of  the 
new  converts  ;  despite  too  all  the  dangers  which  the  elevation  of 
lower  classes  of  a  people  always  entails,  for  the  individual  as 
well  as  for  the  community.  It  is  easy  to  realise  that  missionaries 
faced  this  mass  of  fresh  responsibility  with  a  varying  degree  of 
comprehension,  systematised  method,  and  energy.  In  our 
opinion,  the  societies  which  entered  upon  it  most  heartily  were 
the  American  Baptists  in  the  Telugu  country,  the  Methodist 
Episcopals  in  the  United  Provinces,  and  the  American  Congrega- 
tionalists  (A.B.)  in  the  Ahmadnagar  district.  But  no  society  held 
entirely  aloof  from  this  difficult  and  often  thankless  task,  not 
even  the  Free  Church  of  Scotland,  whose  gifts  and  history  had 
pointed  so  expressly  in  the  direction  of  work  amongst  the  highest 
classes  of  the  people.  We  can  safely  reckon  that  apart  from  the 
missions  to  aborigines — who  indeed  are  nearly  related  to  them 
— a  good  four-fifths  of  the  entire  success  of  missionary  work 
during  the  last  twenty-five  years  has  been  realised  amongst  the 
Panchamas.  In  the  Madras  Presidency  the  total  number  of 
native  Christians  has  increased  as  follows: — 1851,  74,176; 
1861,  110,078  (an  increase  of  35,905);  1871,  160,955  (an 
increase  of  50,877) ;  then  came  the  years  of  the  great  famine 
1 876-1 878;  1 88 1,  299,742  (an  increase  of  138,787);  1890,365,912 
(an  increase  of  66,170);  1900,  506,019  (an  increase  of  140,107). 
To  appreciate  these  statistics  aright  we  should  consider  them 
alongside  those  of  the  Telugu  missions,  whose  increase  was 
almost  exclusively  made  up  of  Malas  and  Madigas. 


American  Baptists 
American     Lutheran') 

General  Synod        / 
American     Lutheran) 

General  Council      / 
C.M.S.  Telugu') 

Mission  J 

L.M.S.  Telugu) 

Mission  / 


S5I. 

I86I. 

1S71. 

18S1. 

1890. 

1900. 

10 

23 

6,4iS 

53,216 

96,450 

1 53.440  (?)' 

64 

338 

2,149 

7,988 

13,566 

20,486 

10 

29 

320 

707 

1,360 

5,000  (about) 

II 

259 

1,082 

5.124 

6,034 

13.103 

10 

1,250 

2,793 

6,331 

6,791 

9,284 

405     1,899     13,562      73,366    111,191     201,213 


Thus,  of  the  entire  increase  in  the  Presidency  between  1871  and 

1 88 1  (138,787),  some  60,000,  and  in  the  last  decade  (1890- 1900, 

^  The  Annual  Report  for  that  year  (1900)  only  gives  130,000. 


2  34  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

140,107)  some  90,022,  are  to  be  traced  to  these  five  missions 
amongst  the  Malas  and  Madigas,  which  are  situated  close 
together  in  a  relatively  small  district  of  the  vast  Presidency  of 
Madras ;  that  is,  in  the  first  of  these  three  decades  they 
numbered  more  than  a  fifth,  in  the  second  more  than  a  half, 
and  in  the  third  more  than  three-fifths  of  the  whole  increase 
within  the  Presidency.  In  the  Tamil  missions  it  is  universally 
admitted  even  by  the  Leipzig  missionaries  and  the  Society  for 
the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel,  both  of  which  have  comparatively 
large  churches  of  Sudras  in  the  very  heart  of  the  Tamil  country, 
that  the  increase  during  the  last  quarter  of  a  century  has  been 
almost  wholly  drawn  from  amongst  the  Panchamas.  And  most 
illuminating  of  all  is  the  fact  that  the  increase  in  the  two 
Tinnevelly  missions  of  the  Church  Missionary  Society  and  the 
Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel,  which  are  pre- 
dominantly Sudra  missions,  has  come  to  a  standstill  since  the 
great  increase  during  the  famine  years  1 878-1 879;  in  1881  they 
numbered  together  95,624;  in  1890,  93,302;  in  1900,  86,760; 
and  according  to  the  Annual  Reports  of  1904  and  1905,  77,317 
— a  disheartening  fact.  If  we  proceed  to  North  India,  the  same 
thing  is  most  clearly  illustrated  in  the  United  Provinces  by  a 
comparison  of  the  figures  for  the  whole  province  with  those  of 
the  Episcopal  Methodists  (M.E.),  who  work  almost  entirely 
amongst  the  Panchamas. 


Native     Christians     in~\ 

the  United  Provincesj 
Of    this    number,    the  \ 

Meth.  Episcopalians  1- 

had  .         .         .J 

i.e.  of  the  total  results    . 

This  is  the  second  characteristic  feature  of  the  last  quarter 
of  a  century,  that  the  work  of  missions  has  been  predominantly 
amongst  the  Panchamas.  The  third  has  been  engraven  as  with 
hot  iron  by  the  awful  distress  of  this  last  decade — the  frightful 
famines  of  1896- 1897  and  1900  and  the  plague  which  has 
raged  in  India  since  1896.  The  great  famine  of  1 876-1 879, 
which  is  still  remembered,  had  revealed  how  deeply  the  famines 
which  visit  India  periodically  influence  every  phase  of  life,  and, 
above  all,  missionary  labour.  It  was  therefore  terrible  news 
when,  owing  to  the  continued  delay  of  the  monsoon  rains  upon 
which  far  and  away  the  greater  part  of  the  agriculture  of  India 
almost  entirely  depends,  the  advent  of  a  great  drought  and 
famine  was  announced  in  1896.  An  area  of  228,000  square 
miles,  with  a  population  of  80  millions,  was  affected  (England 
and  Wales  have  an  area  of  58,000  square  miles  with  32^  million 


851. 

I86I. 

1871. 

1881. 

1890. 

1900. 

,732 

3,982 

7,779 

12,709 

30,321 

108,990 

297 

1,748 

5,416 

22,607 

96,385 

7% 

22% 

43% 

74% 

88% 

DEVELOPMENT  OF  PROTESTANT  MISSIONS     235 

inhabitants).  Since  the  great  famine  of  1876  the  Government 
had  had  nearly  twenty  years'  breathing  space  in  which  to 
prepare  for  similar  calamities,  and  had  made  the  best  use  of  its 
opportunity.  The  only  fairly  reliable  protection  against  famine 
lies  in  providing  regular  irrigation  of  the  country  from  its  inex- 
haustible water  supplies.  Every  year  untold  masses  of  water, 
unused  and  often  even  harmful,  are  carried  down  the  mighty 
Indian  rivers  to  the  sea.  The  first  task  to  be  attempted, 
therefore,  was  to  bind  these  unwieldy  giants  and  to  force  them 
to  serve  the  industrious  sons  of  the  soil  in  peaceful  and  well- 
regulated  canal  systems.  Even  in  the  days  of  the  Moghul 
dominion  the  broad  level  Doab  between  the  Ganges  and  the 
Jumna  had  been  thus  fertilised  by  means  of  canals.  The 
English  have  taken  in  hand  one  river  system  after  another — 
the  broad  waste  delta  districts  of  the  Godavari  and  Kistna, 
the  scarcely  smaller  deltas  of  the  Mahanadi  and  Brahmani,  the 
watershed  of  the  Periyar  to  the  south  of  the  Western  Ghats. 
Their  greatest  achievement  has  been  during  the  last  decade, 
when  they  have  laid  down  canals  across  great  tracts  of  the 
Punjab.  In  the  Doab  between  the  Chenab  and  the  Ravi,  the 
canalised  district  (called  variously  the  Rechna  Doab  or  Jhang 
Bar,  or  more  recently  the  Chenab  Colony)  embraces  an  area  of 
2000  square  miles  and  extends  from  near  Wazirabad  in  the  north 
to  the  neighbourhood  of  Multan.  The  centre  of  the  colony  is 
Lyallpur ;  from  thence  the  traveller  can  now  traverse  hundreds 
of  miles  of  waving  cornfields,  where  formerly  there  existed 
nothing  but  barrenness  and  desolation,  and  the  newly  founded 
town  of  Gojra  has  become  one  of  the  principal  wheat  marts  of 
the  country.  One  million  seven  hundred  thousand  acres  of 
wild  and  waste  land  have  thus  been  brought  under  cultivation. 
A  second  and  less  extensive  canal  system,  but  yet  one  which 
embraces  more  than  1420  square  miles,  was  opened  to  traffic 
in  October  1901  ;  this  was  the  Jhelum  Colony,  between  the 
Jhelum  and  the  Chenab,  having  as  its  central  town  Sargoda. 
Even  in  1896  14,000  miles  of  artificially  constructed  irrigation 
canals  were  said  to  be  in  existence.  Since  that  time  their 
length  has  probably  more  than  doubled. 

The  Indian  Government  had  prepared  itself  in  other  ways 
for  the  famine.  The  whole  of  India  had  been  divided  into  a 
great  number  of  "blocks,"  for  the  ample  connection  of  which 
the  construction  of  high  roads  was  undertaken.  A  number  of 
lines  of  railway  were  constructed  solely  with  the  object  of  opening 
up  districts  difficult  of  access.  When  at  last,  however,  gaunt 
famine  did  actually  stride  through  the  land,  it  was  found  that 
all  these  preparatory  measures  were  insufficient  to  cope  with 
the  immeasurable  distress. 


2  36  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

To  make  matters  still  worse,  since  the  autumn  of  1896  the 
land  has  been  afflicted  uith  relentless  severity  by  bubonic 
plague,  the  "black  death"  of  the  Middle  Ages,  carried  to  India 
in  the  first  place  from  Hong  Kong.  Beginning  at  Bombay, 
the  plague  on  the  one  hand  took  firm  root  in  certain  commercial 
centres  like  Poona,  Patna,  Hubli,  etc.,  where  it  burst  forth  with 
renewed  vigour  again  and  again  ;  and  on  the  other  hand  it 
spread  slowly  but  surely  from  taluq  to  taluq,  from  province  to 
province,  until  at  last  one  could  almost  foretell  the  month  in 
which  it  would  arrive  in  a  given  neighbourhood  ;  then  again  it 
would  spread  in  a  sporadic  and  altogether  unaccountable 
fashion,  turning  up  most  unexpectedly  now  at  one  place,  now 
at  another  very  far  distant  one,  spreading  fear  and  havoc 
wherever  it  went,  and  driving  the  well-nigh  distracted  populace 
hither  and  thither  like  the  leaves  before  a  hurricane.  According 
to  official  statistics,  which  must  be  far  below  the  mark  on 
account  of  the  Hindu  dread  of  notification  and  its  attendant 
evils  of  house-to-house  investigation,  disinfection,  etc.,  there  died 
of  the  plague  in  1898,  118,000;  1899,  135,000;  1900,  193,000; 
1901,274,000;  1902,  577,000.  In  March  1903  there  died  of  it  in  one 
week(5th-iith)45,54i  persons  ;  for  the  whole  year  1903,853,000; 
1904,  1,040,000;  January  ist  to  February  i8th,  1905,  223,690; 
since  the  outbreak  of  the  plague  in  1896,  3,352,109.  P^specially 
did  it  seem  to  glut  its  rage  in  the  Bombay  and  Poona  districts 
and  in  the  Punjab.  In  the  last-named  province  there  died  in 
February  1902  no  less  than  29,992  persons;  at  Gujranwala 
the  weekly  total  of  deaths  was  for  many  months  looo;  in  the 
Ludhiana  district,  2900 ;  in  the  Sialkot  district  30,000  men  died 
in  1902  alone,  and  the  plague  is  at  the  present  stronger  than 
ever,  and  there  is  still  little  hope  of  its  being  stamped  out. 
It  generally  sets  in  with  undiminished  severity  in  February 
and  March  each  year.  It  could  not  but  be  expected  that  such 
a  devastating  scourge  would  stir  the  very  hearts  of  the  people. 
Rumours  of  every  kind  concerning  the  origin  and  purpose  of 
the  plague  began  to  circulate.  First,  it  was  the  missionaries 
who  had  strewn  a  poison  powder  in  all  the  springs  and  wells  in 
order  to  kill  all  who  were  not  Christians ;  now  it  was  the 
PLnglish  Queen  or  Viceroy  who  had  ordered  a  general  poisoning 
of  the  people  of  India.  On  the  other  hand,  many  were  inclined 
to  see  in  the  plague  a  judgment  of  God  on  the  sins  of  the 
people,  and  in  the  comparative  freedom  from  it  enjoyed  by 
Christians  (natives  as  well  as  English)  a  gracious  providence  of 
God,  a  victory  for  Christ. 

At  first  the  Government  attempted  to  set  bounds  to  the 
disease  by  instituting  preventive  measures  of  the  broadest 
character.     Strict  quarantine  was  established  both  at  ports  and 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  PROTESTANT  MISSIONS     237 

on  the  railways.  Any  one  desiring  to  leave  the  plague  area  had 
to  obtain  a  medical  certificate  concerning  the  actual  state  of  his 
health.  In  every  house  where  a  case  occurred,  the  other 
members  of  the  family  were  forced  to  enter  the  isolation  camps, 
which  quickly  sprang  up  in  all  directions,  and  remain  there  ten 
days  under  observation  ;  all  infected  underclothing,  upper 
garments  and  beds  were  burnt,  and  infected  suburbs  or  quarters 
of  the  large  towns  were  pulled  down  or  set  on  fire.  These 
strong  measures  were  well  meant,  but  they  had  such  evil  results 
that  people  lost  confidence  in  them.  The  natives  rebelled 
against  these  attacks  on  the  sanctuary  of  their  homes  and 
families ;  popular  insurrections  broke  out ;  English  officials 
charged  with  the  carrying  out  of  these  laws  were  laid  hands 
upon,  and  even  murdered.  And  the  artful  Hindus  found  so 
many  ways  of  evading  the  most  stringent  regulations,  of  con- 
cealing cases  of  plague,  of  removing  patients  suffering  from  the 
plague,  that  it  became  evident  that  in  this  way  the  evil  could 
never  be  suppressed.  Comparatively  speaking,  the  best  ex- 
pedient discovered  has  been  the  inoculation  treatment  perfected 
by  an  Austrian  physician.  Dr.  Haffkine ;  those  who  underwent 
this  treatment  were  practically  immune  from  the  plague  at  any 
rate  for  several  months,  or  if  they  did  contract  it,  it  was  only  in 
a  mild  form.  The  better  educated  classes,  and  above  all,  the 
native  Christians,  at  the  instigation  of  the  missionaries,  submitted 
to  the  treatment  by  inoculation,  and  it  is  to  this  circumstance 
that  the  practical  exemption  of  Christians  from  the  plague  is  to 
be  attributed. 

Missionary  work  was  hindered  by  the  plague  in  many  ways. 
Bazaar  preaching  and  evangelistic  tours  had  to  be  given  up, 
many  of  the  zenanas  were  closed,  the  populations  of  whole 
towns  and  villages  were  dispersed.  But  there  was  plenty  of 
work  for  the  missionaries  to  do  in  the  care  of  the  sick  and  the 
burial  of  the  dead.  Just  as  at  this  time  of  need  the  hardhearted- 
ness  and  pitilessness  of  heathendom  were  seen  as  never  before, 
so  much  the  more  clearly  against  such  a  dark  background  did 
the  fair  picture  shine  out  of  a  large  number  of  doctors  and 
nurses  who,  courageous  in  the  presence  of  death,  performed 
their  devoted  ministries  of  comfort  in  the  midst  of  a  dying 
people.  One  lady  missionary,  Mrs.  Gilder,  succumbed  whilst 
engaged  in  this  work. 

The  great  famine  of  1897  was  followed  in  1900  by  a  second, 
which  affected  an  even  greater  area  and  was  still  more  terrible 
than  its  predecessor,  a  famine  which  was  in  fact  equal  to  the 
very  worst  recorded  on  the  tear-stained  pages  of  India's  history. 
Whereas  the  famine  of  1897  had  affected  an  area  of  some 
228,000  square  miles  and  a  population  of  eighty  millions,  that 


238  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

in  1900  extended  over  more  than  240,00x3  square  miles  and 
sixty-one  million  persons  were  added  to  those  who  suffered. 
At  the  height  of  the  distress  the  Government  reports  state  that 
forty-nine  millions  of  the  population  were  absolutely  starving, 
and  one  and  a  quarter  millions  perished  either  from  pure  starva- 
tion or  from  hunger  typhus.^  Two  circumstances  contributed 
to  make  the  distress  this  time  insupportable.  In  the  first  place, 
all  the  energy  and  attention  of  England  were  engaged  in  the 
war  with  the  South  African  Republics,  which  was  just  then  at  its 
most  critical  stage.  Nevertheless,  the  Indian  Treasury  expended 
;^750,ooo  in  alleviating  the  misery  of  the  people,  and  five  million 
individuals  were  either  employed  in  relief  works  or  fed  free  of 
cost.  Moreover,  it  was  not  a  case  this  time  of  the  failure  of  the 
monsoon  for  one  year.  The  land  had  not  yet  recovered  from 
the  drought  of  1897,  and  the  rainfall  for  1899  had  been  irregular 
and  slight;  also  during  1901  and  the  first  half  of  1902  there 
was  no  rain  in  certain  very  large  areas ;  so  that  it  was  now  a 
question  of  soil,  which  for  five,  and  in  many  cases  for  seven 
years  had  been  devoid  of  rain,  and  which  was  by  this  time 
completely  parched. 

Only  in  the  second  half  of  the  year  1902  did  plenteous 
showers  of  rain  fall  in  the  greater  part  of  the  districts  concerned, 
and  bring  the  real  period  of  distress  to  an  end.  One  very  bad 
feature  of  these  famines  is  that  even  a  number  of  good  harvests 
do  not  remove  the  traces  of  such  misery ;  numberless  small 
proprietors  and  farmers  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  usurers  during 
the  period  of  dearth,  and  for  years  they  wrestle  in  vain  to  get 
out  of  their  clutches  ;  the  moneylenders  insist  in  carrying  off 
the  crops  from  the  fields,  to  cover  the  interest  on  their  loans. 
Hundreds  of  thousands  are  dispersed  up  and  down  in  the 
country  districts  or  have  migrated  to  a  distance,  and  their 
villages  remain  desolate  and  in  ruins.  A  still  greater  number, 
owing  to  abstention  from  food  or  insufficient  quantities  of  it,  are 
so  undermined  in  health  that  they  pine  away  and  fall  an  easy 
prey  to  the  plague. 

That  in  the  train  of  the  famine  cholera  would  devastate  the 
land  was  unfortunately  only  to  be  expected.  Especially  great 
were  its  ravages  in  the  Telugu  country  and  in  the  highlands  of 
Rajputana  and  Kashmir ;  two  missionaries  belonging  to  the 
Schleswig- Holstein  Evangelical  Lutheran  Missionary  Society 
in  Jaipur,  Messrs.  Timm  and  Kuhlmann,  and  one  to  the  Church 
Missionary  Society's  work  amongst  the  Bhils,  Thompson,  were 
carried  off  by  it.  Even  more  lamented  was  the  death  (also  of 
cholera,  on  September  ist,  1901)  of  Miss  Isabella  Thoburn,  the 

^  The  Methodist  Episcopal  Report  in  1900  records  one  million  cases  of  death  in 
Rajputana  alone  (Elders'  Report,  p.  25). 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  PROTESTANT  MISSIONS      239 

highly  gifted  founder  and  for  many  years  principal  of  the 
Women's  College  at  Lucknow. 

All  the  missionary  societies  have  worked  at  high  pressure 
during  the  years  of  the  famine,  and  as  energetic  friends  continu- 
ally kept  their  hands  full  of  gifts  they  were  able  to  keep  tens  of 
thousands  from  perishing  by  means  of  soup-kitchens,  road- 
making,  chapel-building,  by  improvised  industries  and  many 
other  expedients  of  ever  inventive  love.  The  Church  Mission- 
ary Society  expended  ;^  12,000,  Robert  Arthington  £9000,  the 
American  Lutherans  £^yoo,  and  so  on.  The  tireless  and 
energetic  editor  of  the  New  York  Christian  Hei-ald,  a  German, 
Dr.  Klopsch,  gained  for  himself  honourable  distinction  by 
collecting  from  his  readers  ;^62,500,  and  then  freighting  a  ship 
with  rice  and  other  grain,  and  with  these  stores  sailing  to  India, 
where  he  was  able  personally  to  superintend  their  distribution. 
The  Anglo-Indian  Government  recognised  the  able  and  self- 
sacrificing  aid  rendered  by  the  missionaries.  Quite  a  number 
of  missionaries  were  decorated  with  the  newly  created  Order 
for  public  service  rendered  to  India,  the  Kaisar-i-Hind  Order. 
Dr.  A.  Neve,  a  C.M.S.  medical  missionary  at  Srinagar,  and  Dr. 
R.  A.  Hume  of  Ahmadnagar  (American  Board),  received  the 
gold  medal  of  the  Order  in  1900,  whilst  the  venerable  Julius 
Lohr  of  Bisrampur  (American  Evang.  Synod),  and  other  mission- 
aries, both  male  and  female,  received  the  silver  medal.^ 

The  greatest  interest  was  taken  on  the  part  of  the  missionary 
societies  in  the  gathering  in  of  the  helpless  widows  and  orphans. 
Such  orphanages  as  had  been  built  during  former  famines  were 
crowded  to  the  very  last  place,  and  new  ones  sprang  up  like 
mushrooms.  During  the  two  famines  of  1896- 1897  and  1900 
evangelical  missions  have  provided  for  24,360  children,  widows 
and  orphans  in  this  way.  (Mr.  Pegg,  an  agent  of  the  Church 
Missionary  Society,  even  reckons  that  there  must  have  been 
30,000.)  Particularly  numerous  among  these  newly  founded 
orphanages  are  the  so-called  "  Faith  Orphanages,"  i.e.  homes  for 
which  no  missionary  society  in  the  homeland  has  undertaken 
financial  responsibility,  and  which  have  been  established  by 
energetic  missionaries,  both  male  and  female,  on  their  own 
responsibility,  and  on  the  strength  of  faith  in  God  and  in  the 
help  of  Christian  friends.  By  far  the  most  important  and 
most  interesting  of  these  institutions  is  that  of  Pandita  Ramabai, 
at  Mukti,  near  Khedgaon,  in   the  Maratha  country,  in  which 

^  As  these  distinctions  are  highly  prized  in  India,  and  are  looked  upon  as  a  public 
recognition  of  missionary  work,  we  may  here  add  the  names  of  the  other  Protestant 
missionaries  who  have  been  decorated  with  the  gold  medal  :  Dr.  Abbott,  of  the 
American  Board,  Bombay  ;  Dr.  John  Murdoch,  originator  of  the  "  Christian  Mission- 
ary Society  "  of  Madras  ;  Graham,  founder  of  the  "  St.  Andrews'  Colonial  Homes  " 
at  Kalimpong  ;  and  Ferdinand  Hahn,  of  Gossner's  Mission. 


2  40  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

about  1800  helpless  widows  have  found  a  Christian  home. 
A  similar  widows'  and  orphans'  village  was  founded  by  a  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Lawson  (Episcopal  Methodist  missionaries)  at 
Aligarh,  in  the  United  Provinces;  they  took  1300  widows 
and  orphans  under  their  care,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lee  of  Calcutta 
(also  Episcopal  Methodist  missionaries)  likewise  founded  an 
orphanage  for  boys  and  girls  which  took  in  280  children  ; 
in  connection  with  this  institution  a  missionary  union  has 
sprung  into  being,  the  Industrial  Evangelistic  Mission,  having 
Its  headquarters  in  London.  The  unattached  missionary 
Norton,  who  has  already  been  mentioned  several  times,  settled 
in  Dhond,  near  Khedgaon,  and  established  a  boys'  orphanage 
with  accommodation  for  4000  children.  Dr.  Klopsch,  the  editor, 
undertook  to  support  5000  orphans  for  five  years.  Nor  were  the 
missionary  societies  idle.  In  Ahmadnagar,  a  western  district 
of  the  Maratha  country,  which  had  been  especially  ravaged  by 
the  famine,  the  American  Board  took  in  over  2845  orphans ;  it 
distributed  seed  rice  to  24,665  small  farmers,  and  assisted  15 14 
others  to  obtain  new  oxen  to  plough  their  land. 

In  former  great  famines  one  of  the  results  has  generally 
been  that  vast  numbers  have  clamoured  at  the  doors  of  the 
Christian  Church  for  admittance  and  that  the  number  of 
baptisms  has  increased  rapidly ;  but  in  connection  with  the 
last  two  famines  there  are  no  such  mass  movements  to  record, 
or  at  any  rate,  only  to  a  comparatively  small  extent.  A  very 
few  missions,  such  as  those  of  the  Episcopal  Methodists  in 
the  United  Provinces  and  in  Gujarat,  have  baptized  large 
numbers  of  converts.  On  the  other  hand,  there  has  been  an 
understanding  among  the  missionaries  to  admit  as  few  candi- 
dates as  possible  for  baptism  whilst  the  famine  lasted,  and  as 
far  as  may  be  none  from  amongst  those  in  receipt  of  aid  of  any 
kind  from  the  different  societies.  This  has  been  done  to 
avoid  even  the  appearance  of  making  "  Rice  Christians."  In  the 
Telugu  country  the  Mala  and  Madiga  movement  almost  came  to 
a  standstill  during  these  years  of  distress — only  to  move  for- 
ward with  greater  momentum  at  the  close  of  that  period.  Even 
the  Pariah  movement  in  South  India  appears  to  have  become 
stationary  since  the  last  famine.  Without  doubt,  however, 
the  great  increase  in  the  results  of  missions  from  559,661 
native  Christians  in  1890  to  854,867  in  the  year  1900  (or  say 
295,201  within  a  single  decade)  is  to  be  associated  with  the 
after  effects  of  the  help  which  had  been  so  devotedly  rendered 
during  the  stress  of  plague  and  famine. 


CHAPTER   IV 
RELIGIOUS  PROBLEMS  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

I.  Animistic  Religions 

After  thus  briefly  portraying  the  development  of  Indian 
missions,  let  us  turn  our  attention  from  their  external  circum- 
stances to  the  inner  and  secret  forces  which  have  influenced 
this  development,  partly  assisting  and  partly  retarding  it.  The 
great  problem  of  missionary  work  is,  How  can  Christianity 
overcome  and  supplant  native  forms  of  religion  ?  On  closer 
examination  this  simple  problem  resolves  itself  for  India  into 
three  main  questions:  (i)  the  problem  of  the  popular  religions; 
(2)  the  caste  problem  ;  (3)  the  problem  of  Indian  pantheism. 
We  shall  begin  by  rapidly  sketching  a  few  of  the  forces  which 
have  furthered  missionary  progress  ;  we  can  do  so  the  more 
succinctly  because  the  account  given  in  the  previous  chapter 
has  already  shown  us  these  different  forces  at  work. 

(a)  Whilst  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries  had 
been  passed  in  well-nigh  interminable  wars,  whether  between 
the  peoples  of  India  or  between  the  rival  European  powers, 
the  establishment  of  British  rule  brought  the  whole  country, 
from  the  Himalayas  to  Cape  Comorin,  an  almost  universal 
peace,  the  Pax  Britajinica.  Wars  now  occurred  only  on  the 
frontiers  and  for  the  most  part  only  to  prepare  the  way  for 
the  further  extension  of  territory,  —  though  of  course,  in  so 
doing,  new  doors  for  missionary  enterprise  were  opened.  They 
did  not  disturb  or  destroy  missionary  work,  on  the  contrary 
they  rather  stimulated  it  to  further  achievement ;  thus  it  was 
with  the  Maratha  wars  in  the  first  decades  of  the  centurj', 
the  war  in  the  Punjab  about  the  middle  of  the  century,  and 
the  wars  of  1824  and  1886  in  Burma.  The  year  of  terror 
during  the  great  Mutiny  of  1S57-1  858  only  causes  the  long  era  of 
peace  both  before  and  after  to  stand  out  in  so  much  bolder  relief. 

{U)  Since  the  overthrow  of  the  shortsighted   policy  of  the 

East   India    Company    British   rule   has,  as  a   matter  of  fact, 

meant  an  open  door  for   Christianity.     It  is  true  that   during 

the  hot  political    strife  in  England  after  the  Mutiny  the  sup- 

16 


242  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

porters  of  foreign  missions  did  not  succeed  in  inducing  the 
Indian  Government  to  look  with  greater  favour  on  missions, 
nor  in  bringing  about  an  era  of  even  judiciously  limited  official 
protection  for  them ;  but  the  policy  of  strong  neutrality  in 
»  religious  affairs,  candidly  expressed  as  it  was  and  ever  more 
consistently  executed,  was  really  all  that  missions  required. 
When  the  Government  had  severed  official  connection  with 
heathenism,  with  its  temples  and  its  idolatry,  and  when,  dating 
from  the  days  of  the  far-seeing  and  benevolent  Lord  William 
Bentinck  (1828-1835), — especially  through  the  instrumentality 
of  that  gifted  historian,  Macaulay,  and  of  the  great  jurist, 
Sir  Henry  Maine, — the  Indian  administration  of  justice,  and 
especially  Indian  criminal  law,  had  been  revised  in  accordance 
with  Western  principles  of  jurisprudence  (i 837-1 861),  there 
remained,  at  any  rate  in  those  regions  that  were  directly 
under  English  rule,  scarcely  anything  to  be  desired  with  regard 
to  the  attitude  of  the  Government  towards  missionary  work. 

(<r)  The  British  Raj  was  seen  to  be  most  potent  in  opening 
up  the  country  by  means  of  roads,  railways,  and  canals,  and 
in  installing  swifter  and  safer  means  of  communication  with 
Europe,  especially  with  England.  This  English  policy  of  free 
communication  can  only  be  characterised  as  perfect.  It  has 
not  only  considerably  facilitated  the  connection  of  the  mission- 
ary societies  with  their  far-distant  headquarters,  but  has  also 
prepared  a  way  for  them  in  the  interior  of  the  country,  even 
in  the  remotest  districts,  and  lightened  the  toil  of  travelling. 
To  see  this  clearly  one  has  only  to  think  of  the  shelters  erected 
for  travellers  along  every  line  of  communication,  the  Dak 
Bungalows  for  Europeans,  and  the  Sattirams  for  the  natives. 

{d)  Hand  in  hand  with  this  general  opening  up  of  the 
country  for  purposes  of  traffic,  and  very  much  more  so  since 
the  reform  of  the  Indian  school  system  under  Dr.  Duff  and 
Lord  William  Bentinck  (1830- 183 5),  there  has  come  the  in- 
tellectual development  of  the  Indian  people  (through  the 
British  educational  policy).  Although  considerable  devia- 
tions may  seem  to  have  been  made  from  that  policy  as 
originally  laid  down,  and  although  it  has  not  been  by  any 
means  entirely  acceptable  to  missionaries,  yet  on  the  whole 
it  is  this  same  educational  policy  which  has  proved  the  way 
by  which  missions  have  penetrated  into  the  very  heart  of 
Indian  society,  and  the  means  whereby  an  influence  has  been 
won  which  could  otherwise  have  been  attained  only  with  the 
greatest  difficulty. 

{e)  This  intellectual  opening  up  of  India  is  of  special  moment 
because  it  has  aroused  the  peoples  of  India  from  the  "waking 
slumber"  into  which  all  departments  of  their  intellectual  life 


RELIGIOUS  niOBLEMS  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS      243 

had  fallen  for  many  centuries.  Whereas  at  the  commence- 
ment of  the  nineteenth  century  almost  every  branch  of  mental 
culture  in  India — the  dialects  of  the  people,  Sanskrit  research, 
architecture,  literature,  etc. — was  in  a  state  of  neglect,  of 
desolation  and  of  decay,  contact  with  the  youthfully  buoyant 
and  energetic  civilisation  of  the  West  has  imparted  to  each  of  them 
no  slight  amount  of  impetus.  Above  all,  it  has  forced  Indian 
thought  and  civilisation  to  enter  into  a  thorough  examination 
and  analysis  of  itself,  when  placed  in  contrast  with  the  civilisa- 
tion of  the  ruling  race — a  civilisation  out  of  the  West  which  is 
the  product  of  Christianity.  And  in  this  great  intellectual  task 
the  question  of  Christianity  is  continually  vindicating  its  right 
to  serious  consideration. 

Yet  these  and  similar  forces  are  only  valuable  in  that  they 
have  served  as  a  preparation  for  missionary  work  ;  the  actual 
task  of  the  missionary,  which  must  ever  be  the  overthrow  of  the 
religions  of  heathenism,  is  in  no  wise  aided  by  them.  The  first 
question  we  are  compelled  to  take  up  is :  "  What  has  been  up 
to  the  present  the  attitude  of  the  Indian  religions  towards 
Christianity,  and  what  prospects  are  there  of  their  ultimate 
overthrow?"  We  have  not  the  intention,  any  more  than  we 
had  above  (p.  17  et  seq\  of  giving  here  a  connected  account  of 
the  manifold  and  Protean  network  of  the  Indian  religions, 
either  from  the  point  of  view  of  their  historical  development,  or 
from  that  of  the  form  in  which  we  to-day  find  them ;  such  an 
attempt  would  carry  us  far  beyond  the  limits  of  our  theme. 
Let  us  rather  consider,  as  the  biologist  a  number  of  transverse 
sections,  what  are  the  tasks  which  have  been  and  are  presented 
to  the  missionary  by  the  various  strata  of  Hinduism.  Let  us 
first  confine  our  attention  to  Hinduism  in  the  narrower  sense,  i.e. 
simply  as  the  popular  religion. 

Modern  Hinduism  presents  itself  to  us  as  a  highly  com- 
plicated geological  section  at  the  base  of  which  we  find  the 
most  elementary  religious  forms  of  brutal  fetishism  and  barren 
animism,  but  at  the  summit  a  sublime  religious  philosophy 
revelling  in  transcendental  speculation.  The  separate  strata 
offer  mission  work  a  most  varied  objective,  and  place  before  it 
tasks  of  diverse  character.  In  the  lower  grades  we  find  a  broad 
stratum  of  tribal  religions,  for  the  most  part  of  a  popular  nature, 
which  we  may  sum  up  in  a  phrase  (though  this  is  none  too  clear 
or  precise)  as  "  animistic  forms  of  religion."  What  is  thereby 
meant  is  tersely  explained  by  Sir  H.  Risley,  Census  Report 
1901,1.  §  627,  p.  356):  "Animism  in  India  conceives  of  man  as 
passing  through  life  surrounded  by  a  ghostly  company  of 
powers,  elements,  tendencies,  —  mostly  impersonal  in  their 
character, — shapeless  phantasms  of  which  no  image  can  be  made 


244  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

and  no  definite  idea  can  be  formed.  Some  of  these  have 
departments  or  spheres  of  influence  of  their  own  :  one  presides 
over  cholera,  another  over  smallpox,  another  over  cattle-disease  ; 
some  dwell  in  rocks,  others  haunt  trees,  others  again  are 
associated  with  rivers,  whirlpools,  waterfalls,  or  with  strange 
pools  hidden  in  the  depths  of  the  hills.  All  of  them  require  to 
be  diligently  propitiated  by  reason  of  the  ills  which  proceed 
from  them.  .  .  .  The  essence  of  these  practices  is  magic.  If 
certain  things  are  done  decently  and  in  order,  the  powers  of 
evil  are  rendered  innocuous  in  a  mechanical  but  infallible 
fashion.  But  the  rites  must  be  correctly  performed,  the  magic 
formulje  must  be  accurately  pronounced,  or  else  the  desired 
effect  will  not  be  produced." 

In  these  words  Risley  more  especially  describes  the  animism 
of  the  Kolarian  and  Dravidian  forest  tribes  of  Chota  Nagpur, 
the  Munda  and  Oraon  Kols,  the  Santals,  etc.  Mythological 
stories  here  play  only  a  small  and  subordinate  part.  Even 
concerning  Singbonga,  the  good  but  somewhat  listless  deity 
who  resides  in  the  sun  and  who  is  perhaps  more  or  less  identical 
therewith  ;  concerning  his  faithless  consort,  Chander,  Chando 
Omol  or  Chanala,  the  moon ;  concerning  Marang  Burn,  the 
spirit  dwelling  in  the  high  mountains  who  is  worshipped  by 
both  Hindus  and  Muhammadans  alike — concerning  all  these 
the  Mundas  have  but  little  to  say.  And  the  spirits  of  the 
departed  have  only  a  secondary  importance  in  their  eyes ;  they 
receive,  it  is  true,  a  modest  portion  of  every  repast,  hens  are  at 
certain  times  sacrificed  to  them — partly  out  of  friendly  interest 
in  their  welfare  in  the  spirit-world,  but  principally  to  dissuade 
them  from  ever  returning  to  the  huts  of  their  posterity ;  after 
the  sacrifice  the  spirits  are  entreated  to  return  to  their  habita- 
tions far  underground  ;  and  those  present  at  the  sacrifice 
carefully  sweep  away  all  traces  of  their  footsteps  in  order  that 
the  spirits  may  not  be  able  to  find  their  way  to  the  dwelling- 
places  of  the  living.  The  Mangars  in  Nepal  even  go  so  far 
as  to  obstruct  the  path  from  the  grave  to  their  homes  with 
thorns  in  order  that  the  spirits,  whom  they  imagine  to  be  a  kind 
of  mannikin,  may  not  be  able  to  come  that  way  {idem,  355, 
415  ;  cf.  Nottrott,  GossncrscJic  KcVs-Miss.,  vol.  i.  p.  57). 

To  the  same  group  of  animistic  forms  of  religion  belong  in 
reality  the,  in  general,  scanty  religious  conceptions  of  the 
Tibeto-Burmese  peoples,  who  inhabit  the  north  and  east  of 
Bengal,  the  mountain  forests  of  Assam,  and  almost  the  whole 
of  Burma.  But  animism  here  assumes,  on  the  one  hand  more 
mischievous,  and  on  the  other,  foreign  features.  Amongst  the 
countless  spirits  who  menace  the  life  and  welfare  of  the  Karens 
and  the  Burmans,  the  Nahs  (Karen)  or  Nats  (Burmese)  play  a 


RELIGIOUS  PROBLEMS  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS     245 

large  part.  These  are  "  wicked  spirits  of  the  most  dangerous 
order.  They  are  worshipped  throughout  the  whale  of  Further 
India;  their  cult  has  superseded  Buddhism,  which  in  these  parts 
only  seems  to  be  a  fair-weather  religion,  for  as  soon  as  any 
calamity  appears,  even  the  Buddhists  themselves  fall  to 
worshipping  the  Nats  again.  The  Nats  are  the  main  source  of 
all  the  evils  which  beset  mankind  in  this  world.  They  can  also 
take  possession  of  a  man,  who  is  then  called  a  Nat-man,  i.e. 
conjurer  or  witch.  Their  number  is  legion.  Whole  villages 
and  clans  are  often  impeached  of  sorcery,  held  in  the  greatest 
awe,  and  shunned  by  all.  These  people  can  destroy  human 
life  by  their  magic,  or  can  cause  lumps  of  leather  or  linen,  in  the 
guise  of  beetles  and  other  insects,  to  enter  the  bodies  and 
entrails  of  their  enemies,  even  when  the  latter  are  at  a  great 
distance — so  that  they  die  very  rapidly  "  {Allgem.  Miss.  Zeitschrift, 
1879,  p.  64). 

In  a  curious  fashion  this  animism  is  related  to  the  totemistic 
stories  of  the  Creation  to  be  found  among  nearly  all  the  Indo- 
Chinese  peoples.  The  Was  make  it  their  boast  that  they  are 
descended  from  a  couple  of  tadpoles,  who  later  grew  into 
werewolves  {Census  Report,  1901,  Ethnographical  Appendices 
to  vol.  i.  p.  214).  The  Palaungs  trace  their  descent  to  a  Naga 
or  snake  princess,  who  is  said  to  have  laid  three  eggs  and  from 
the  first  of  the  three  to  have  hatched  their  forefathers ;  the 
Mons,  or  Talaings,  also  claim  descent  from  this  snake  princess, 
whilst  the  ancestor  of  the  Kachins  is  said  to  have  been  born 
from  a  pumpkin,  and  so  on  {Census  Report,  1901,  vol.  i.  p.  534). 

Bound  up  with  this  totemism  and  the  ancestral  legends 
therewith  connected  we  also  find  such  singular  usages  and 
customs  as  the  head-hunting  and  skull-worship  of  the  Was. 
Not  that  the  Was  can  be  really  termed  cannibals,  although 
neighbouring  tribes  reproach  them  with  the  vice  ;  but  when  a 
new  village  is  to  be  built,  when  drought  is  impending,  when 
a  pestilential  disease  is  working  havoc  amongst  the  people,  or  on 
any  similar  occasion,  then  a  new  skull  has  to  be  obtained  and 
solemnly  offered  up.  Thus  was  it  ordained  by  their  two 
founders,  the  werewolves  Ya  Htawa  and  Ya  Htai.  It  will  be 
seen  that  this  is  something  wholly  different  from  the  animism 
of  the  Kols. 

We  are  once  more  among  animistic  doctrines,  although  it  is 
an  animism  whose  characteristic  features  present  considerable 
variety,  when  we  consider  the  religious  beliefs  of  the  Pariahs 
and  the  lowest  castes,  especially  in  South  India,  and  above  all 
amongst  the  Tamils,  the  Telugus,  and  the  Malayals.  Here  too 
the  numberless  spirits  and  demons  are  pre-eminently  malevolent ; 
such   are    the   beings   termed    "  Ammen,"   that   is   "  mothers," 


246  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

amongst  whom  we  find  the  Muttar-Ammen,  the  awful  goddess 
of  smallpox,  and  Mari-Ammen,  the  mother  of  death.  "  Kali 
and  Bhaara  Kali,  who  play  so  large  a  part  in  the  worship  of 
Siva,  are  neither  more  nor  less  than  prehistoric  Dravidian 
village-deities,  and  as  such  they  are  still  worshipped  by  those 
tribes  which  have  had  little  contact  with  Hindu  civilisation." 
Alongside  these  greater  spirits  we  have  the  wild  array  of  the 
lean  black  Peys,  or  spirits  of  the  dead,  of  the  fat  little  red 
Bhuts  and  of  the  restless  Pisachas,  who  only  stir  abroad  that 
they  may  torment  unfortunate  human  beings.  Specially 
important  as  rites  in  the  service  of  such  deities  are  certain 
ecstatic  conditions,  as,  for  instance,  the  so-called  "devil  dances." 
Bishop  Caldwell  gives  a  graphic  description  of  these  dances 
{Comparative  Grammar  of  Dravidian  Languages,  p.  585 
et  seq.).  Fantastically  clad,  amid  deafening  noise  from  rattling, 
bellowing,  and  piercing  musical  instruments,  the  exorciser  of 
spirits  begins  his  dance.  "  The  music  is  at  first  comparatively 
slow  and  the  dancer  seems  impassive  and  sullen.  .  .  .  Gradually 
as  the  music  becomes  quicker  and  louder,  his  excitement  begins 
to  rise.  Sometimes  to  help  him  to  work  himself  up  into  a 
frenzy  he  uses  medicated  draughts,  cuts  and  lacerates  his  flesh 
till  the  blood  flows,  lashes  himself  with  a  huge  whip,  presses  a 
burning  torch  to  his  breast,  drinks  the  blood  which  flows  from 
his  own  wounds,  or  drinks  the  blood  of  the  sacrifice,  putting 
the  throat  of  the  decapitated  goat  to  his  mouth.  Then,  as  if  he 
had  acquired  new  life,  he  begins  to  brandish  his  staff"  of  bells, 
and  dance  with  a  quick,  but  wild  unsteady  step.  Suddenly  the 
afflatus  descends.  There  is  no  mistaking  that  glare,  or  those 
frantic  leaps.  He  snorts,  he  stares,  he  gyrates.  .  .  .  The  devil- 
dancer  is  now  worshipped  as  a  present  deity." 

What  attitude,  then,  have  these  animistic  religions  taken  up 
with  regard  to  Christianity?  Meagre  as  is  their  spiritual 
content,  misty  and  vague  their  beliefs,  and  the  spirits  and 
devils  which  are  worshipped  being  in  nearly  every  case  male- 
volent, it  is  no  wonder  that  these  inferior  forms  of  religion 
have  a  tendency  either  to  vanish  into  thin  air  when  they  come 
into  contact  with  higher  forms  or  to  be  themselves  assimilated 
to  those  higher  forms.  We  can  follow  with  photographic  ac- 
curacy this  process  of  higher  forms  of  religion  pressing  in  upon 
the  lower  animistic  tribal  religions  (Appendix  to  chapter  viii.  of 
the  Census  Report  for  igoi :  "  Religious  Ideas  of  some  Animistic 
Tribes  in  Bengal,"  pp.  401-420).  That  the  Mundas,  Oraons, 
and  Santals  have  been  thus  influenced  is  well  known.  Fven 
amongst  the  Juangs,  apparently  the  least  civilised  of  all  Indian 
races,  we  find  Hindu  deities  like  Siva,  Durga,  and  Balabhadra 
held  in  honour ;  all  they  lack  is  a  few  Brahmans  to  serve  as 


RELIGIOUS  PROBLEMS  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS      247 

their  priests — at  present  the  Deharis  or  village  priests  must  also 
execute  this  service  towards  the  Hindu  gods.  The  religion  of 
the  Mangars  in  Nepal  is  described  as  having  already  become 
a  lax  form  of  Hinduism,  intermingled  with  vestiges  of  the  old 
animistic  worship.  The  religion  of  the  Musahars  "  illustrates 
with  remarkable  exactitude  the  gradual  metamorphosis  of  the 
fetishistic  and  animistic  ideas  of  the  Old  Dravidian  tribes  into 
the  degenerate  Hinduism  of  the  lower  strata  of  the  caste 
system." 

As  a  matter  of  fact  we  can  distinguish  three  stages  in  this 
process.  A  great  number  of  tribes  have  retained  animistic 
conceptions  with  remarkable  tenacity.  In  the  course  of  their 
historical  development  they  have  come  to  regard  the  represent- 
atives of  the  higher  forms  of  religion — the  Hindus  in  Bengal, 
the  Buddhists  in  Burma  —  as  their  deadly  enemies,  and  this 
enmity  has  been  to  them  a  wall  of  protection  preserving  their 
animism  in  an  uncontaminated  form.  Such  tribes  present, 
almost  without  exception,  a  very  favourable  soil  for  Christian 
missions.  They  are  in  a  large  measure  a  field  well  prepared 
for  the  seed  of  the  gospel.  Such  are  the  Mundas,  the  Oraons, 
the  Santals,  and  likewise  the  Karens,  the  Khassis,  and  the  Nagas. 
A  great  and  a  good  God  and  Father  in  heaven,  who  sent  His 
only  begotten  Son  to  be  the  Saviour  of  the  world,  and  who 
protects  His  children  from  the  malice  and  power  of  all  spirits 
and  demons — this  is  in  very  deed  a  gospel  of  salvation  to  these 
races.  Unfortunately,  however,  the  number  of  those  tribes  who 
have  preserved  their  animism  intact  is  very  limited.  The  Bhils, 
for  instance,  are  already  so  far  Hinduised  as  to  have  changed 
their  Dravidian  language  for  an  Aryan  dialect.  And  the  Gonds 
of  Central  India,  who  with  their  population  of  one  and  a 
quarter  millions  may  be  looked  upon  as  the  most  numerous 
and  influential  of  these  Old  Dravidian  forest  folk,  have  submitted 
themselves  to  this  Hinduising  process  to  such  an  extent  that 
great  numbers  of  them  no  longer  speak  the  old  Dravidian 
Gondi,  but  a  mixed  Aryan  dialect.  The  second  stage  brings 
before  us  those  tribes  and  races  in  whose  midst  the  Hinduising 
process  has  made  such  progress  that  they  have  already  been 
included  and  incorporated  into  the  great  structure  of  the  caste 
system.  Owing  to  the  peculiar  rigidity  and  exclusiveness  of 
that  system,  it  happens  almost  invariably  in  such  cases  of 
incorporation  that  the  respective  tribes  or  clans  sink  down  to  the 
despised  level  of  the  Panchamas  ;  as  such  they  have  no  share  in 
the  worship  of  the  great  Hindu  gods,  no  admission  to  their 
temples,  and  very  often  no  Brahmans  as  priests.  From  a 
religious  point  of  view  they  are  left  to  themselves,  and  hence 
become  demoralised.     It  would  be   of  great   interest  to   trace 


248  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

this  down-sinking  and  uprising  of  Dravidian  and  Kolarian 
tribes,  and  portions  of  tribes,  in  the  lower  strata  of  Hinduism  ; 
but  we  must  for  the  present  forbear.  To  this  second  stage 
belong  the  Pariahs  and  the  Shanans,  the  Malas  and  the 
Madigas,  the  Mahars  and  the  Mangs,  the  Chamars  and  the 
Mehtars.  As  these  tribes  or  castes  have  gained  little  by  being 
received  into  Hindu  society,  and  have  lost  much  both  religiously 
and  socially,  it  is  in  many  cases  possible  to  awaken  in  them  the 
thought  of  a  second  conversion,  of  a  transition  from  a  Hinduism 
that  is  for  them  without  healing  and  without  hope,  to  Chris- 
tianity, with  its  rich  and  manifold  promises.  As  well  as  the 
comforting  contrast  between  the  simple  affectionate  teaching  of 
Christianity  and  a  belief  in  those  malignant  spirits  who  peopled 
their  previous  religious  world,  they  are  also  particularly 
attracted  by  the  prospect  of  the  religious  and  civil  equality 
which  Christianity  holds  out  to  them,  and  by  the  efforts  of 
the  missionaries — as  a  result  of  the  necessary  connection  exist- 
ing between  the  Christian  doctrine  of  love  and  this  same 
fundamental  principle  of  social  equality — to  help  every  one  of 
their  adherents  to  attain  to  an  honourable  state  of  existence. 

Where,  however,  such  animistic  tribes  have  gained  socially 
by  their  reception  into  the  higher  form  of  religion,  or  at  any  rate 
have  not  lost  by  it,  where  the  higher  faith  has  been  able  to 
make  appropriate  provision  for  the  proselytes  and  to  grant  to 
them  real  equality,  there  it  is  that  Christianity  finds  a  hard  soil 
and  an  almost  complete  lack  of  response.  This  has  particularly 
been  the  case  with  Buddhism  in  Further  India  and  Ceylon. 
The  Burmese  and  the  Singhalese  races  which  Buddhism  has 
"  commandeered,"  though  it  may  have  exercised  only  a  superficial 
influence  upon  them,  offer  Christianity  the  most  tenacious 
opposition,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  everywhere  beneath  the 
thin  varnish  of  Buddhism  animistic  ideas  and  practices  exist 
with  unabated  strength.  Islam  too  has  generally  offered  its 
converts  sufficient  attractions  to  bind  them  fast  to  itself;  we 
can  see  this  on  a  large  scale  in  the  only  superficially  Muham- 
madanised  peoples  of  Eastern  Bengal  and  in  the  town  and 
country  population  of  the  Western  Punjab  and  Kashmir.  We 
cannot  but  conclude  that  in  former  times  the  Hinduising,  from 
a  religious  point  of  view,  of  the  great  Dravidian  peoples  was 
accomplished  along  similar  lines ;  to  them  the  striking  Aryan 
theogony  and  view  of  life  has  as  a  matter  of  fact  brought  so 
much  that  they  could  afford  to  make  light  of  the  loss  of  their 
poverty-stricken  little  animism,  and  feel  no  inclination  what- 
ever to  know  more  about  Christianity  as  a  still  better  and 
richer  faith.  The  task  and  the  methods  of  the  missionary 
amongst  these  races  and  tribes  grossly  contented  with  a  show 


RELIGIOUS  PROBLEMS  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS     249 

of  things   will    be  of  a  very  different    nature   from    his   work 
among-  the  simple-minded  animists. 

2.  Popular  Hinduism 

Let  us  now  ask,  What  is  the  attitude  towards  Christian 
missions  adopted  by  the  great  body  of  popular  Hinduism? 
We  shall  not  here  enter  upon  a  description  of  this  division 
of  Hinduism  in  its  mollusc-like  manifoldness  and  the  Protean 
diversity  of  its  phenomena.  Common,  however,  to  all  its  forms 
is  an  endlessly  varied  world  of  gods :  and  even  though  this 
Pantheon  has  a  different  meaning  for  the  simple  peasant  and 
for  the  temple  Brahman,  for  the  Bengali  and  for  the  Tamil, 
yet  are  they  all  polytheists.  And  it  is  beyond  doubt  that 
along  with  this  polytheism  there  prevails  amongst  great 
masses  of  the  people  gross  idolatry,  the  worship  of  wooden 
and  stone  images,  also  worship  and  divine  honours  for  sacred 
animals  (cobras,  monkeys  and  cows)  and  plants  (the  Tulsi 
plant,  the  pipal  tree).  The  philosophically  trained  Hindu 
will  try  to  make  little  of  this  gross  idolatry,  to  spiritualise  it, 
to  cast  a  veil  over  its  nakedness.  But  the  ordinary  practices 
of  everyday  life  and  close  observation  of  the  manners  of  worship 
of  the  great  mass  of  people  all  speak  to  the  contrary  (^Intelli- 
gencer, 1905,  731  et  seg.,  "The  Hindu  Idol").  The  missionaries 
are  in  the  right  when  they  meet  polytheism  and  idolatry 
with  a  strong  emphatic  protest,  and  when  they  make  their 
appeal  to  the  witness  of  the  religious  understanding  to  the 
one  God  and  to  the  worship  of  Him  in  spirit  and  in  truth. 
This  standpoint  of  intelligent  monotheism  gives  Christian 
missions  a  position  with  regard  to  the  majority  of  the  popula- 
tion of  India  as  strong  as  that  taken  up  by  Christianity  in  the 
first  three  centuries  with  regard  to  the  all-dominating  polytheism 
of  the  Grceco-Roman  Empire. 

It  ought  to  be  pointed  out,  however,  that  all  sections  of  this 
vast  Hindu  population  do  not  maintain  an  equally  hostile 
attitude  towards  Christianity.  It  is  true  that  as  yet  no  door 
whatever  has  been  opened  amongst  the  Jains  and  other  sects 
similarly  under  Buddhistic  influences,  amongst  the  Saivites  of 
South  India,  and  amongst  those  Tamils  who  have  gone  over  to 
the  service  of  Siva  and  the  philosophy  that  has  come  to  be 
associated  with  his  name.  But  the  whole  of  Vaishnavism,  the 
entire  worship  of  Vishnu  in  all  its  varieties  and  sects, — whether 
in  the  form  of  the  Rama  and  Krishna  cult,  or  as  a  school  of 
Ramanuja  and  Chaitanya, — bears  indications  of  a  more  sym- 
pathetic attitude  towards  Christianity,  and  of  an  inclination 
to  bridge  over  the  vast  difference  between  them.     The  doctrine 


2  50  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

of  "  bhakti  marga "  (which  may  be  roughly  translated  "  the 
way  of  salvation  by  faith  ")  in  contradistinction  to  the  "  karma 
marga  "  ("  the  way  of  salvation  by  works  "),  and  the  emphasis 
laid  upon  a  personal  relation  of  the  soul  to  the  deity  which  is 
found  in  the  above-mentioned  Vaishnavite  reformers,  is  at  any 
rate  a  point  of  contact  with  cardinal  verities  of  the  Christian 
faith.  Some  students  of  Indian  religions  have  even  tried  to 
prove  that  in  this  reformed  Vaishnavism  Christian  elements 
have  found  their  way  into  the  religious  world  of  the  Hindu  and 
have  there  taken  firm  root.  In  any  case,  the  Brahmo  Samaj 
movement  has  worked  mainly  along  Vaishnavite  lines. 

Remarkable  too  are  the  scattered  points  of  contact  which 
missionary  workers  have  met  with  in  nearly  every  part  of  the 
country.  The  most  striking  of  these  are  the  traditions  of  the 
Burmese  Karens,  which  are  so  reminiscent  of  prehistoric  times 
as  recorded  in  the  Bible,  and  in  which  modern  students  of 
theology  find  a  connection,  as  yet  it  is  true  not  worked  out 
in  detail,  with  Chinese-Judaic  or  with  patristic  tradition  {Basle 
Miss.  Mag.,  1864,  p.  81  ^^'  seq. ;  Allgevieine  Miss.  Zeitschrift,  1878, 
p.  57  et  seq.).  Only  recently  the  American  Baptist  Mission  in 
the  mountain  forests  of  Burma  discovered  a  similar  people,  the 
Muhsos,  near  the  Chinese  frontier.  This  race  also  has  remarkably 
coherent  traditions  concerning  the  creation  of  the  world,  the  Fall, 
the  Deluge,  the  Ten  Commandments,  etc.,  which  are  only  to  be 
accounted  for  by  some  hitherto  unexplained  contact  with  the  Old 
Testament  {Evang.  Miss.,  1905,  p.  140).  Amongst  the  Kols  is 
found  the  remarkable  myth  of  Kasra  Kora,  the  Son  of  Leprosy. 
This  was  the  only  begotten  son  of  Singbonga,  the  Sun  God,  who, 
clothed  in  a  leprous  skin  and  wandering  upon  the  earth  at  his 
father's  bidding,  was  sacrificed  by  Asur  in  a  red-hot  furnace, 
whence  he  emerged  purified,  his  body  glowing  with  light  and 
gloriously  arrayed  (Nottrott,  Kols-Mission.,  vol.  i.  62  et  seq.).  To 
the  east  of  Hubli  and  Dharwar,  in  the  South  Maratha  country,  the 
Basle  missionaries  found  a  sect  called  the  Kalagnanas,  or  "  sect  of 
prophecy."  These  all  awaited,  in  accordance  with  the  prophecies 
of  an  old  Arabian  book,  the  fall  of  idolatry  and  the  caste  system 
through  the  instrumentality  of  a  King  who  should  come  from 
the  West,  and  who  was  to  be  the  one  true  God  {Basle  Miss. 
Mag,  1 841,  p.  284). 

Similar  precursory  service  has  been  rendered  by  at  least 
some  of  the  sects,  in  which  Hinduistic  elements  have  been 
welded  together  with  doctrines  and  practices  borrowed  from 
other  faiths,  principally  from  Islam  or  Buddhism.  Such  was 
the  case  when,  particularly  in  the  beginnings  of  evangelical 
missions  in  North  India,  the  Kabirpanths,  the  followers  and 
disciples  of  the  Vaishnavite  Hindu  reformer  Kabir  (i 380-1420), 


RELIGIOUS  PROBLEMS  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS      251 

were  converted  in  large  numbers  ;  such  too  were  the  first- 
fruits  of  the  mission  to  the  Kols.  In  like  manner  the  agents 
of  the  Church  Missionary  Society  in  the  Krishnagar  district 
found  adherents  among  the  members  of  the  Karta  Bhoja,  "  wor- 
shippers of  the  Creator,"  a  semi-Hindu,  semi-Islamic  sect,  which 
existed  on  the  strength  of  its  opposition  to  the  tyranny  of  the 
Brahmans.^ 

Of  greater  moment  and  consequence  are  those  Hindu  sects 
which,  under  the  influence  and  through  the  preaching  of  the 
missionaries,  have  assimilated  various  Christian  elements  and 
mingled  them,  frequently  in  remarkable  wise,  with  Hinduism. 
Thus  Droese,  a  missionary  at  Bhagalpur  in  Bengal,  came  into 
contact  with  the  Satguruwas,  who  worshipped  a  "  holy  book," 
and  when  he  came  to  investigate  this  "  holy  book,"  it  turned  out 
to  be  a  tract  by  Sternberg,  a  member  of  the  Gossner  Mission  on 
the  Ganges  {Die  GescJiicJite  des  Baba-Ji  imd  seiner  Jilngcr, 
Anklam,  1891).  A  similar  sect,  the  Satya-gurus,  were  discovered 
by  the  first  Baptist  missionaries  in  Eastern  Bengal.  In  the 
villages  surrounding  Dacca,  the  old  capital,  they  found  large 
numbers  of  Hindu  peasants  who  had  abandoned  idolatry,  who 
earnestly  sought  a  "true  teacher  sent  from  God,"  and  who 
preserved  in  an  old  wooden  chest  a  well-thumbed  book  which 
they  regarded  as  a  most  precious  relic ;  on  closer  examination, 
this  proved  to  be  Carey's  Bengali  translation  of  the  New 
Testament  (G.  Smith,  Carey,  p.  236).  The  Chamar,  Ghasi  Das, 
when  on  a  pilgrimage  to  Puri  from  Chhattisgarh,  in  Central 
India,  came  into  contact  with  Baptist  missionaries  at  Cuttack, 
and  learnt  so  much  from  them  that  on  his  return  he  forsook  the 
worship  of  idols  and  ordered  the  numbers  of  people  who  soon 
rallied  round  him  to  worship  God  under  His  "  Satnami "  or 
"  right  name."  This  sect,  which  came  to  be  called  the  Satnami 
sect,  has  been  a  factor  of  great  importance  to  missionary  work 
in  that  district  {Eva7tg.  Miss.,  1897,  136  et  seq.).  In  the  Punjab 
the  English  missionary  Bateman  discovered  the  sect  of  the  Chet 
Ram,  who  preached  the  divinity  of  Christ,  the  Son  of  God,  and 
Saviour  of  the  world,  who  thought,  however,  that  no  one  could 
enjoy  either  inspiration  or  revelation  without  first  partaking 
of  intoxicating  liquor !  All  members  of  this  body  must  at  all 
times  carry  a  New  Testament,  and  as  a  rule  they  carry  it  in 
their  bosom  {idid.  1903,  p.  275  et  seq.). 

This  intermingling  of  Christianity  and  heathenism  becomes 
a  difficult  question  when  it  receives  a  political  or  social  colouring, 
as  has  frequently  happened  in  modern  times.  This  was 
especially  noteworthy  in  the  case  of  Daud  Birsa,  the  "  false 
prophet"  of  Chota  Nagpur,  who,  seeking  to   unite  in  one  the 

^  Stock,  History,  vol.  i.  p.  314. 


252  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

impressions  of  Christianity  gained  in  mission  schools  and  by- 
intercourse  with  missionaries,  and  the  social  and  political 
agitation  of  the  Sardars,  raised  a  revolt  and  met  his  doom 
{Evang.  Mission.,  1896,  p.  91  et  seq.\  1900,  p.  193  et  seq.).  A 
similar  though  more  far-reaching  revolution  brought  about  by  a 
blending  of  Christianity  and  heathenism  was  the  well-known 
Taiping  Rebellion  in  China,  the  leader  of  which.  Hung  Tsiu 
Tseuen,  declared  himself  to  be  a  younger  brother  of  Jesus  {Basle 
Miss.  Mag.,  1861,  p.  281  ;  1862,  p.  57;    1863,  p.  164). 

The  results  of  these  movements  and  their  generally  short- 
lived connection  with  missions,  owing  to  their  political  aims, 
warn  us  against  overestimating  the  importance  and  recruiting 
force  of  such  movements,  astounding  as  some  of  them  are. 
Nevertheless,  they  prove  to  us  how  easily  tendencies  favourable 
to  Christianity  are  created  in  the  heart  of  the  Indian  people, 
a  people  ever  so  susceptible  to  religious  influences,  and  how 
tenaciously  Christian  memories  are  retained,  even  under  the 
most  unfavourable  circumstances.  It  would  be  well  -  nigh 
impossible  to  understand  how  such  a  mass  of  disconnected  and 
contradictory  elements  as  popular  Hinduism,  interpenetrated  as 
it  is  by  the  most  despicable  elements  of  fetishism  and  idolatry, 
could  have  offered  such  solid  resistance  to  Christianity,  had  it 
not  been  possessed  of  three  distinct  factors  by  which  its 
marvellous  power  is  upheld.  It  is  these  three  factors  which 
must  be  considered  as  the  real  hindrances  to  Christianity^ — the 
caste  of  the  Brahmans,  the  general  caste  system,  and  Indian 
pantheism. 

3.  The  Brahmans 

The  Brahmans  are  the  sacerdotal  order  of  India.  Yet  this 
does  not  wholly  account  for  the  position  they  have  gained  in 
the  life  of  the  people ;  moreover,  it  is  scarcely  within  the  power 
of  any  one  who  has  not  a  personal  knowledge  of  India  and  who 
has  not  made  a  special  study  of  the  conditions  of  Indian  life  to 
obtain  any  right  idea  of  their  importance.  Common  to  all 
primitive  religions — and  often  to  others  besides  ! — is  the  idea 
that  the  efficacy  of  sacrifices  and  prayer  depends  upon  the 
manner  in  which  they  are  offered.  Even  in  Vedic  times  this 
idea  was  so  powerful  as  to  make  the  Brahmans,  as  the  trans- 
mitters and  conservers  of  the  sacred  rites  and  efficacious  chants, 
the  authorised  mediators  betwixt  mankind  and  the  gods. 
Religious  sentiment  in  India  being  very  pronounced,  the  position 
of  the  priesthood  is  a  correspondingly  privileged  one.  To  this 
must  be  added  the  fact  that  in  accordance  with  that  peculiar 
conservatism  which  envelops  the  religious  life  of  every  nation, 
the  entire  religious  ceremonial  is  exclusively  performed  in  the 


RELIGIOUS  PROBLEMS  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS     253 

sacred  Sanskrit,  a  language  which  has  been  dead  for  nearly  two 
thousand  years.  The  Brahmans  thus  became  at  once  the  trans- 
mitters of  Sanskrit  literature  and  the  patrons  and  devotees  of 
science,  whose  peculiar  privilege  it  was  to  study  and  promote 
the  use  of  Sanskrit.  Hereditary  rights  to  influential  positions 
ever  tend  to  a  monopolisation  of  power  ;  we  need  only  re- 
member the  struggles  of  the  German  emperors  of  the  Middle 
Ages  with  the  hereditary  might  of  the  nobility.  Strangely 
enough,  the  Brahmans  have  scarcely  ever  or  anywhere  attempted 
to  seize  the  kingship ;  but  as  the  only  legitimate  priests,  the 
patrons  of  science,  as  well  as  the  counsellors  and  ministers  of 
princes,  they  have  established  themselves  all  the  more  firmly, 
and  have  asserted  their  authority  with  all  the  more  finality.  In 
a  land  where,  owing  to  the  universal  hereditary  nature  of  every 
calling,  the  larger  number  of  avocations  are  pursued  for  hundreds 
of  years  without  the  slightest  intellectual  effort  or  the  slightest 
movement  of  free  thought,  there  is  an  obvious  twofold  result : 
on  the  one  hand,  in  the  middle  and  lower  classes  mental  activity 
is  grievously  crippled,  and  on  the  other,  those  who  are  called  to 
the  intellectual  and  spiritual  leadership  of  the  people  develop 
a  relatively  high  state  of  intellectual  life,  which  becomes  the 
heritage  of  their  own  families  alone.  Knowledge  is  power. 
When  at  the  time  of  the  great  restoration  of  Hinduism  and  the 
conquest  of  Buddhism,  the  glory  of  the  well-nigh  forgotten  gods 
of  ancient  India  was  revived,  it  was  the  Brahmans  whom  this 
victory  principally  concerned,  and  who  drew  from  it  the  largest 
amount  of  advantage.  These  and  other  similar  considerations 
gave  the  Brahmans  their  great  superiority. 

We  have  already  mentioned  (p.  20)  that  at  the  present  time 
the  Brahmans  number  14,893,258  souls.  As  they  are  really  the 
privileged  class,  they  have  special  reasons  for  closing  their  ranks 
to  intruders.  For  centuries  they  have  been  as  good  as  hermeti- 
cally sealed  against  additions  from  the  lower  orders.  Be  it 
said  in  passing  that  the  same  exclusiveness  was  not  practised 
in  former  times,  that  it  probably  could  not  have  been,  or 
it  would  be  impossible  to  account  for  the  manifold  variations, 
both  in  build  and  complexion,  of  the  Brahmanical  section  of 
the  community.  If  from  the  294,361,000  inhabitants  of  India 
we  subtract  the  62h  million  Muhammadans,  the  SI  million 
Animists,  the  gh  million  Buddhists,  and  about  2  millions  more 
for  religions  wholly  unconnected  with  the  Brahman  faith,  we 
have  a  remainder  of  about  212  million  Hindus;  dividing  the 
15  million  Brahmans  into  this  number,  we  see  that  the  latter 
compose  7  per  cent,  of  the  Hindu  population.  For  a  privileged 
priestly  caste,  for  the  unchallenged  leaders  of  a  people,  that  is 
an  enormously  high  percentage.     At  all  events,  the  result  has 


254  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

been  that  Brahmans  have  had  to  enter  other  calHngs  besides  the 
service  of  the  temples  and  shrines — as  a  matter  of  fact  at  the  pre- 
sent time  they  are  to  be  found  in  every  imaginable  calling  and 
position;  with  especial  predilection  have  they  sought  all  lucrative 
and  administrative  posts,  and,  in  general,  any  kind  of  work  in 
which  intelligence  and  intellectual  training  are  necessary.  In 
this  way  they  win  the  leadership  in  all  departments  of  in- 
tellectual and  economic  life. 

When  one  considers  that  this  disproportionately  numerous 
Brahman  sect,  with  its  selfish  class  interests,  is  inseparably  bound 
up  with  Hinduism,  its  gods  and  its  temples,  its  language  and 
its  literature,  and  when  one  considers  further  that  Hindu  India 
has  for  fifteen  hundred  years  and  more  been  accustomed  to 
regard  the  Brahmans  as  its  leaders  both  in  religion  and  in 
mental  culture,  one  can  understand  what  a  mighty  rampart  is 
here  raised  against  Christian  missions.  It  is  indeed  a  remark- 
able fact  that  during  the  course  of  the  nineteenth  century 
relatively  more  Brahmans  have  been  won  over  to  Christianity 
than  from  any  other  of  the  classes  of  society  nearest  to  them  in 
order  of  importance ;  the  reason  for  this,  wholly  apart  from 
many  doubtful  cases,  is  that  amongst  these  men,  who,  owing  to 
their  calling,  are  constantly  occupied  with  the  greatest  problems 
of  the  universe,  there  are  not  infrequently  to  be  found  those  who 
are  honestly  and  sincerely  groping  after  truth,  and  who  do  finally 
seek  and  find  in  Christianity  both  salvation  and  peace.  Never- 
theless, considered  as  a  whole,  Brahmanism  must  be  regarded  as  a 
great  and  hitherto  unsurmounted  obstacle  to  Christian  missions. 

It  is  an  obstacle  to  missions  in  another  respect  also.  When 
such  a  mighty  intellectual  force  holds  truly  imperial  sway  over 
the  entire  religious  life  of  the  Hindus,  it  also  follows  that  it  will 
determine  absolutely  the  forms  in  which  that  life  is  expressed. 
The  religious  life  of  the  Hindus  does  in  fact  flow  along  channels 
marked  out  for  it  by  the  Brahmans,  and  these  they  maintain  with 
all  the  tenacity  of  an  order  that  lives  solely  upon  tradition. 
These  different  forms — the  temple  service,  reverence  for  the 
Brahmans,  pilgrimages,  melas,  sacred  oxen,  monkeys,  the  in- 
numerable caste  usages,  the  daily  round  of  religious  duties,  etc. — 
are  all  hallowed  by  tradition,  and  zealously  guarded  by  the  Brah- 
mans. And  Christian  missions  can  make  no  use  of  any  of  these 
forms  ;  the  Sabbath  assemblies  of  the  whole  Church,  independent 
of  rank  or  sex,  for  the  preaching  of  the  Word,  the  rite  of  baptism, 
and  still  more  that  of  eating  and  drinking  in  common  at  the 
Holy  Communion,  ordination  for  the  ministerial  office  apart  from 
class  distinction — these,  as  well  as  many  other  things,  are  to  the 
Hindu  entirely  novel.  It  is  quite  another  matter  in  China  and 
Japan,  where  from  time  immemorial  widely  differing  forms  of 


RELIGIOUS  PROBLEMS  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS     255 

worship  have  existed  side  by  side  ;  it  is  another  matter  amongst 
the  uncivilised  races  of  Africa,  who  receive  their  first  ideas  of 
true  worship  from  the  observance  of  that  of  the  Christians,  In 
India  this  complete  contrast  between  Christian  and  Hindu  forms 
of  worship  strengthens  the  prejudice  that  the  former  is  some- 
thing foreign  and  "un-Indian."  This  consideration  would  carry 
still  greater  weight,  were  it  not  that  the  power  of  custom  is  to 
a  certain  extent  paralysed  by  the  opinion,  inculcated  during 
hundreds  upon  hundreds  of  years  of  foreign  dominion,  that  all 
that  is  foreign  is  good  and  worthy  of  imitation.  In  this  matter  as 
in  so  many  others  the  Roman  Catholics  have  sought  to  accommo- 
date their  rites  to  Indian  usage.  The  Protestants,  on  the  other 
hand,  have  from  the  beginning  quietly  refused  to  do  any  such 
thing :  their  Puritanic  zeal  has  indeed  not  infrequently  carried 
them  in  a  contrary  direction  much  farther  than  we  at  home  deem 
necessary ;  crucifixes  and  candles  have  been  banished  from  the 
altar,  and  Biblical  pictures  from  the  walls  of  churches,  in  order 
that  no  slightest  aid  to  the  idol-worshipping  propensities  of  the 
Hindus  may  be  afforded. 

4.  Caste 

The  Brahmans  are  only  enabled  to  maintain  their  unique 
position  because  Indian  society  is  infinitely  subdivided  into 
castes,  and  because  the  group  of  Brahman  castes  is  but  the 
uppermost  stratum  of  a  most  highly  complicated  social  order 
whose  one  uniting  principle  is  caste.  We  do  not  intend  here  to 
enter  upon  the  thorny  question  of  the  origin  of  caste  and  its 
value  from  the  social  as  well  as  from  the  religious  point  of  view. 
We  simply  desire  to  focus  the  fact  that  Christianity  as  introduced 
into  India  by  the  missionaries  is  at  once  confronted  by  an 
entirely  different  order  of  society  which  offers  the  most  violent 
opposition  to  its  advance.  On  its  forward  march  through  the 
peoples  of  the  earth  Christianity  has  found  other  inimical  ex- 
crescences of  society  besides  caste — ^.^.,  to  mention  only  two, 
polygamy  and  slavery.  Towards  these  it  has  taken  up  a  different 
attitude :  from  polygamy  it  has  from  the  beginning  kept  aloof, 
holding  it  to  be  incompatible  with  its  very  essence.  Slavery  it 
tolerated  for  eighteen  centuries,  until  at  length  the  new  spirit  it 
had  implanted  had  grown  strong  enough  to  attack  this  gigantic 
evil.  But  polygamy  is  nowhere — save  perhaps  in  Central  and 
South  Africa — a  fundamental  portion  of  the  social  structure  of  a 
people  ;  at  times  it  is  more  or  less  abandoned  by  non-Christian 
races,  without  danger  to  the  social  fabric — for  instance,  in  the 
later  days  of  Judaism  and  in  the  Graeco-Roman  world  of  the 
first  and  second  centuries.  Nor  is  slavery  essentially  incom- 
patible with  the  spirit  of  Christianity :  both  the  slave  and  his 


256  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

master  may  be  very  good  Christians  and  yet  remain  in  their  re- 
spective conditions.  Moreover,  both  polygamy  and  slavery  have 
only  to  do  in  the  first  place  with  limited  classes  of  people — the 
concubines  and  the  slaves — for  the  most  part  such  subordinate 
classes  as  are  largely  negligible  in  a  consideration  of  the  life  of 
the  people  as  a  whole.  But  the  caste  question  of  India  is 
wholly  different.  It  includes  every  member  of  the  community 
from  the  Maharajah  on  his  throne  down  to  the  leather-worker 
and  the  sweeper,  and  governs  all  with  equal  rigidity  from  the 
cradle  to  the  grave  ;  it  prescribes  the  usages  which  must  be 
followed  at  their  birth,  when  they  receive  their  names,  at  their 
entry  into  civic  life,  at  their  marriage,  at  their  death,  and  at  their 
burial.  These  usages  differ  in  every  group  of  castes,  but  within 
the  caste  are  absolutely  binding  upon  every  member  of  it.  The 
caste  determines  what  a  boy  shall  learn,  what  trade  he  shall 
adopt,  how  he  shall  carry  it  on.  The  caste  determines  which 
gods  he  shall  pray  to,  what  sacrifices  he  shall  offer,  which  temples 
he  shall  visit.  The  caste  determines  what  each  individual 
member  of  it  shall  hold  to  be  good  and  what  evil.  In  short, 
caste  limits  the  free-will  of  the  individual  in  such  an  exclusive 
manner  that,  speaking  generally,  he  no  longer  lives  a  separate 
life,  but  the  common  life  of  his  caste.  This  state  of  things  is 
only  aggravated  and  complicated  by  the"  family  system,"  which 
whilst  not  quite  universal  in  India  is  yet  very  general  in  the 
middle  and  higher  classes  of  society.  Under  this  system  the 
individual  has  no  private  property,  but  house  and  home,  fields 
and  cocoanut  plantations,  even  the  jewellery  and  ready  money, 
belong  to  the  family  as  a  whole,  and  individuals  only  share  in 
these  as  members  of  the  family ;  they  are  also  responsible,  how- 
ever, for  the  discharge  of  those  duties  that  fall  upon  the  family, 
such  as  the  support  of  the  Brahmans  of  the  family,  contributions 
to  the  temples,  and  religious  festivals,  etc. 

The  first  question  one  asks  in  view  of  these  conditions  is. 
Can  a  Hindu,  who  has  come  over  to  Christianity  in  baptism, 
remain  a  member  of  the  caste  of  his  fathers  ?  The  question  can 
only  be  answered  with  a  decided  and  unconditional  negative. 
It  is  not  the  missionary  who  decides  the  matter,  but  Hindu 
society,  which  irrevocably  expels  the  Christian  from  caste. 
This  is  easily  understood  when  the  remarks  made  abov^e  con- 
cerning the  nature  of  caste  and  the  significance  of  the  Brahmans 
are  remembered.  As  surely  as  the  latter,  in  the  great  majority 
of  castes,  are  the  professional  guardians  of  the  laws  and  usages 
of  caste,  so  surely  do  they  excommunicate  every  one  who 
deviates  from  the  special  idol-worship  of  the  caste  or  from  its 
recognised  practices  in  connection  with  births,  marriages,  and 
deaths,  who  has  intercourse  with  members  of  other  castes,  or 


RELIGIOUS  PROBLEMS  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS     257 

who  even  only  eats  and  drinks  with  them  (as  for  instance  at  the 
Lord's  Supper).  Thus  the  question  is  already  decided,  and  this 
decision  will  stand  as  long  as  the  Brahmans  exercise  authority 
over  the  religious  life  of  the  Hindus,  Every  Hindu  who  becomes 
a  Christian  knows  that  ipso  facto  he  will  be  driven  out  of  the 
caste  of  his  fathers.  There  are,  it  is  true,  expiatory  ceremonies, 
by  virtue  of  which  "  outcastes  "  can  again  be  received  into  the 
membership  of  their  caste  ;  and  these  ceremonies  can,  according 
to  the  time  and  circumstances,  be  simplified  or  elaborated  by 
the  Brahmans ;  but  the  one  indispensable  condition  imposed 
upon  a  candidate  for  readmission  is  that  he  shall  promise 
absolute  submission  to  the  rules  of  the  caste  and  the  Brahmans, 
And  for  a  Christian  that  is  out  of  the  question.  As  a  result 
there  ensue  the  many  painful  rendings  asunder  of  those  knit 
by  the  closest  ties  of  blood  relationship,  and  the  frequent  and 
difficult  legal  question  as  to  whether,  and  if  so  to  what  extent, 
the  outcaste  shall  have  any  claim  upon  the  family  property, 
and  as  to  the  amount  for  which  he  can  sue  before  the  law.  This 
section  of  Indian  mission  work  is  rich  in  martyrdoms  character- 
ised by  the  noblest  Christian  heroism  and  self-denial.  This  is 
where  heathendom  and  Brahmanism  make  the  life  of  a  young 
Christian  unbearable,  even  without  carrying  persecution  to  the 
point  of  blood.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  the  self-evident  duty 
of  missions  to  declare  clearly  and  frankly  that  to  remain  in  the 
old  heathen  caste  system  is  impossible  and  incompatible  with 
the  Christian  calling.  When  the  Roman  Catholics  with  their 
extensive  policy  of  accommodation  give  a  wide  berth  to  any 
such  declaration,  they  are  shutting  their  eyes  to  the  facts  of 
the  case.  But  when  societies  favouring  the  caste  system,  like 
the  Leipzig  Missionary  Society,  carefully  guard  such  a  declara- 
tion as  the  foregoing  by  provisos,  and  theoretically  admit  the 
possibility  of  castes  being  cleansed  from  all  the  accessaries  of 
heathenism  by  the  spirit  of  Christianity,  and  afterwards  becom- 
ing a  fit  home  for  Christians,  and  so  on,  they  practically  recognise 
the  case  as  we  have  stated  it.  Other  societies  have  sought  by 
all  means  in  their  power  to  deepen  and  broaden  the  gulf  between 
caste  rites  and  those  of  the  Christian  Church, 

Another  question,  and  one  that  ought  not  to  be  confused 
with  the  foregoing  indisputable  one,  is  this  :  Ought  any  regard 
to  be  paid  to  difference  in  caste  descent  within  the  native 
Church?  Is  this  distinction  to  be  cherished,  tolerated,  or 
attacked  ?  It  is  on  this  point  alone  that  all  the  hot  disputes 
over  caste  have  turned,  and  notably  the  greatly  discussed 
dispute  in  the  Leipzig  Society.  This  latter  conflict  is  all  the 
more  noteworthy  since  it  is,  as  far  as  we  know,  the  only  example 
of  a  question  of  missionary  theory  being  discussed  with  passion 
17 


2  58  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

and  vehemence  in  Germany, — and  as  we  look  back  over  it  we 
are  compelled  to  exclaim,  "  What  a  pity !  How  useless  it 
was ! " — for  the  missionary  public  of  Germany  was  not  in  a 
position  to  form  an  independent  and  adequate  judgment  upon 
this  most  difficult  and  complicated  of  all  missionary  questions 
in  India,  Let  us  quietly  and  dispassionately  consider  the  pros 
and  cons  of  the  matter. 

The  arguments  of  the  opponents  of  caste  are  as  follows  :  It 
is  certain  that  caste  was  originally  neither  an  Aryan  nor  yet 
a  Dravidian  institution.  We  are  acquainted  with  a  prehistoric 
Aryan  age  when  caste  did  not  exist,  and  the  non-Aryanised 
Dravidian  forest  tribes  are  even  to  this  day  without  it :  caste  is 
therefore  simply  a  social  order  which  has  come  into  existence 
during  the  course  of  history ;  it  ought  then  to  be  cast  out  in  its 
turn  in  a  similar  process  of  historical  development  by  the 
coming  upon  the  scene  of  higher  spiritual  forces,  and  especially 
by  those  of  Christianity.  Owing  to  the  general  religious 
character  of  Hindu  life  and  the  paramount  influences  of  the 
Brahmans,  the  caste  system  has  become  so  overgrown  with 
heathenism  and  idolatrous  customs  and  opinions  that  it  is  a 
hopeless  undertaking  to  attempt  to  cleanse  it  from  them.  This 
heathen  element  in  the  caste  system  preponderates  to  an  ex- 
ceptional extent  in  South  India,  where  it  has  been  introduced 
and  perpetuated  principally  by  the  power  of  the  Brahmans,  and 
where  in  the  hands  of  this  priestly  caste  it  has  become  a  means 
towards  the  intellectual  subjugation  of  the  peoples  of  South 
India.  That  the  spirit  of  caste,  which  declares  those  higher  in 
the  scale  of  caste  to  be  persons  of  nobler  mould ;  which  practi- 
cally deifies  the  Brahmans ;  which  confers  upon  every  caste  an 
inherent  character  of  sanctity,  the  laborious  preservation  of 
which  is  inculcated  as  one's  chief  moral  duty;  which  imposes 
upon  the  higher  castes  a  haughty  exclusiveness  towards  those 
lower  in  the  scale,  and  which  limits  the  virtues  of  brotherly  love 
and  brotherliness  to  the  narrow  circle  of  one's  own  caste — that 
this  spirit  is  from  first  to  last  incompatible  with  the  spirit  of 
Christianity  cannot  be  doubted  for  one  moment.  Corporate 
Christian  life  is  hopelessly  interrupted,  if  within  what  may 
possibly  be  a  very  small  Christian  community  those  belonging  to 
higher  castes  should  have  no  dealings  with  those  belonging 
to  lower.  It  is  bad  enough  when  it  finds  expression  in  home 
and  in  civil  life  by  a  refusal  to  eat  in  common,  and  a  mutual 
denial  of  sons  and  daughters  in  marriage ;  it  is  thoroughly 
mischievous  when  castes  begin  to  demand  separate  entrances 
into  a  church,  seats  at  a  distance  from  one  another,  a  special 
order  of  precedence  at  the  Lord's  Supper,  special  plots  in  the 
churchyard,   etc.      In    congregations    composed    of    members 


RELIGIOUS  PROBLEMS  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS     259 

of  various  castes  the  growing  together  into  a  fellowship 
of  the  saints  is  made  unspeakably  more  difficult ;  in  con- 
gregations consisting  of  members  of  only  one  caste  converts  of 
a  lower  status  are  accepted  either  unwillingly  or  only  after  hot 
disputes,  and  those  of  a  higher  order  hold  themselves  aloof, 
because  they  are  unwilling  to  belong  to  the  low  "  Christian 
caste."  And  the  employment  of  the  staff  of  native  helpers  and 
teachers  is  rendered  much  more  difficult  if  catechists  or 
preachers  of  lower  descent  are  not  to  exercise  their  ministry  in 
Christian  congregations  of  a  higher  order,  e.o^.  if  Pariahs  may  not 
minister  to  Sudra  congregations. 

On  the  other  hand,  and  taking  the  arguments  in  the  same 
sequence,  the  friends  of  caste  argue  as  follows  :  Caste  is  beyond 
all  question  a  very  ancient  institution,  and  for  thousands  of 
years  it  has  been  rooted  in  the  Indian  mind  and  consciousness. 
Christian  missions  in  India  increase  the  difficulty  of  their  task, 
already  a  sufficiently  onerous  one,  to  the  limits  of  utter  hope- 
lessness by  writing  the  removal  of  the  caste  system  upon  their 
programme.  As  the  main  object  of  missions  is  to  Christianise 
whole  masses  of  the  population,  the  most  important  question 
for  them  is  not  therefore,  "  What  is  desirable  at  the  present 
elementary  stage  of  missionary  progress  in  India?"  but,  "  What 
idea  have  we  formed  of  a  national  Church  for  India,  broad 
enough  to  include  all  her  peoples  and  tribes  and  tongues  ? " 
It  is  true  that  caste  is  associated  with  numerous  heathen  and 
idolatrous  customs,  but  that  ought  not  to  blind  us  to  the  fact 
that  included  in  the  term  "  caste "  there  are  wide  and  deep 
strata  of  a  purely  social  and  economic  character  with  which 
the  trades  and  handicrafts  are  united  as  with  a  kind  of  guild, 
and  which  lay  down  important  and  far-reaching  rules  for  the 
civil  life  of  the  people.  Christian  missions  can  and  should  only 
undertake  the  duty  of  leading  all  their  converts  into  the  enjoy- 
ment of  a  bright  and  well-founded  Christian  faith  ;  beyond  this 
they  should  endeavour  to  interfere  as  little  as  possible  in  civil 
and  secular  affairs.  That  the  pagan  caste  spirit  and  the  heathen 
devil  of  pride  must  be  cast  out  is  obvious  ;  but  it  is  very 
questionable  whether  this  will  really  be  best  accomplished  by 
tearing  up  social  distinctions  by  the  roots  and  causing  Brahmans, 
Sudras,  and  Pariahs  to  meet  on  one  level  and  to  have  intercourse 
one  with  the  other.  In  the  Middle  Ages  in  Europe  there  were 
ranks  and  guilds  which  were  very  widely  separated,  but  for  all 
that  they  contained  though  not  an  ideal,  yet  still  a  healthy  and 
living  form  of  Christianity ;  it  is  surely  more  than  questionable 
whether  it  be  prudent  to  graft  the  modern  democratic  notions  of 
America  on  to  what  are  even  now  the  early  mediaeval  conceptions 
of  South  India  and  thereby  turn  the  heads  of  the  converts.    It 


26o  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

would  appear  to  be  a  wiser  plan,  through  the  conscientious  preach- 
ing of  the  gospel  and  the  faithful  shepherding  of  souls,  slowly  to 
break  down  the  caste  spirit  from  within,  and  step  by  step  to 
accommodate  the  laws  and  discipline  of  the  Church  to  this  new- 
born Christian  spirit.  "  The  supreme  principle  must  be  that 
everything  incompatible  with  life  in  Christ  must  be  abandoned, 
whilst  all  which  does  not  oppose  the  recreating  energy  of  the 
gospel  may  remain.  Above  all,  distinctions  of  caste  must 
never,  especially  at  the  Holy  Sacrament,  be  allowed  to  exist 
within  the  Church.  .  .  .  Further,  ordination  may  only  be  granted 
...  to  such  as  specifically  promise  never  to  allow  themselves 
to  be  hindered  in  discharging  the  duties  of  their  office  through 
any  caste  differences,  and  also  that  they  will  especially  cultivate 
fellowship  at  the  Lord's  Table  with  all  Christian  brethren  in  any 
case  where  the  avoidance  of  such  fellowship  would  seem  to  cast 
a  slur  upon  their  brotherly  love," — thus  writes  a  decided  friend 
of  caste.  Dr.  Graul,  Director  of  the  Leipzig  Missionary  Society. 
In  conclusion,  it  is  a  fact  that  by  definitely  fighting  caste  within 
a  Church  its  corporate  life  is  in  many  cases  fostered ;  but  it 
ought  not  to  be  forgotten  that  the  Church  and,  with  it,  the 
Christianity  it  presents,  thereby  loses  much  of  its  attractiveness 
for  the  natives.  That  the  middle  and  higher  classes  of  Sudras, 
from  whom  during  the  eighteenth  century  the  principal  influx 
of  converts  was  received  into  the  native  Church,  have  withdrawn 
themselves  more  and  more  from  contact  with  Christianity,  and 
that  the  different  Churches  have  sunk  more  and  more  to  the 
level  of  the  Pariahs  and  Panchamas,  is  surely  a  consequence  of 
the  sharp  opposition  to  caste  which  has  prevailed  since  the 
beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century.  And  even  though  the 
employment  of  native  helpers  within  the  Church  is  facilitated 
by  the  removal  of  caste  barriers,  their  usefulness  amongst  the 
heathen  is  correspondingly  curtailed,  for  it  is  a  fact  taught  by 
experience  that  a  Brahman  or  a  Sudra,  who  in  addition  to  his 
high  rank  is  also  a  Christian,  will  gain  the  ear  of  his  fellow- 
countryman  far  more  easily  than  a  Brahman  who  is  married  to 
a  Pariah  woman. 

In  this  connection  we  are  not  required  to  give  an  unqualified 
decision  for  or  against,  it  is  merely  our  duty  to  give  some 
account  of  this  most  difficult  and  important  of  all  problems 
connected  with  Christian  missions  in  India,  and  by  so  doing 
to  create  an  appreciation  of  the  varied  caste-strifes  narrated  in 
this  book.  From  the  point  of  view  of  the  friends  of  caste  it  is 
to  be  regretted  that  the  indispensable  demands  of  Dr.  Graul 
with  regard  to  specific  points  of  Church  life  have  only  been 
complied  with  in  a  perfunctory  and  unsatisfactory  way  even 
in  the  Leipzig  Missionary  Society :  in  some  churches  there  are 


RELIGIOUS  PROBLEMS  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS      261 

still  separate  entrances  for  Sudras  and  Pariahs  ;  in  many  cases 
separate  sittings  in  the  interior  of  the  church  are  provided  ; 
with  regard  to  the  order  of  precedence  at  Holy  Communion 
there  are  still  tenaciously  observed  rules,  which  guard  the 
precedence  of  the  Sudras ;  the  entry  of  a  Pariah  Christian  into 
a  Sudra  chapel  may  give  rise  to  serious  dissension,  and  even 
permission  to  inter  Pariah  corpses  in  Sudra  cemeteries  is  by  no 
means  everywhere  obtainable.  P'rom  the  point  of  view  of  the 
opponents  of  caste  it  is  equally  regrettable  that  they  are  not 
in  a  position  to  attempt  something  definite  against  the  caste 
evil.  About  the  middle  of  last  century  many  sought  to 
eradicate  caste  forcibly  by  means  of  festival  days  and  love- 
feasts.  More  recently  they  have  been  obliged  to  acknowledge 
that  mixed  marriages  between  Sudras  and  Pariahs  or  others 
cannot  be  forced  upon  the  people ;  that  eating  a  meal  together 
as  a  test  is  a  delicate  matter  which  cuts  right  to  the  roots  of 
domestic  life  and  which  must  be  handled  with  great  prudence ; 
that  those  sections  of  the  population  which  accede  without 
opposition  to  all  the  demands  of  the  missionaries  with  regard 
to  discarding  former  caste  usages,  are  often  invertebrate,  servile, 
and  unreliable  creatures,  and  that  the  Sudras  who  cling  firmly 
to  their  civil  reputation,  and  on  that  account  oppose  the 
demands  of  the  missionaries,  do  not  in  reality  compose  the 
worst  portions  of  the  community. 

Nevertheless,  the  Protestant  missionary  world  of  India  has 
maintained  the  view  that  caste  must  be  entirely  suppressed 
within  the  Christian  community,  and  often  as  the  present 
writer  has  considered  the  question  and  gone  through  the 
material  at  his  disposal,  he  is  yet  unable  to  come  to  any  other 
conclusion  than  that  this  position  is  the  right  one.  Recognise 
as  we  may  the  weighty  reasons  which  the  Leipzig  Tamil 
Mission — the  only  Society  which  is  friendly  to  caste — makes 
use  of  and  urges  with  energy  and  skill,  we  cannot  but  deplore 
the  fact  that  just  on  such  an  important  question  this  Society 
holds  itself  aloof  from  the  consensus  of  opinion  of  the  whole 
body  of  evangelical  missionary  societies.^ 

Both  as  regards  the  position  adopted  by  Protestant  missions 
towards  Indian  heathenism — which  is  summed  up  both  religiously 
and  socially  in  caste — and  as  regards  the  overthrow  of  the 
caste  spirit  and  caste  customs  within  the  Christian  Church, 
caste  is  truly  a  difficult  obstacle  in  the  path  of  missions.  And 
it  only  affords  small  consolation  to  know  that  both  of  the  other 

^  For  further  information  cf.  Warneck's  Missioitskhre,  iii.  i,  p.  317,  note;  also 
the  highly  instructive  treatise  of  Prof.  Warneck  in  the  same  book,  pp.  317-345  ;  my 
own  Nordindische  Missionsfahrtcn,  pp.  257-294  ;  the  Census  Report  Jor  Jgoi,  pp. 
489-559,  and  the  volume  of  Ethnographical  Appendices. 


2  62  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

great  religions  which  have  made  headway  in  India,  Buddhism 
and  Muhammadanism,  fully  conscious  of  what  they  were  about 
and  as  a  matter  of  principle,  have  taken  a  firm  stand  on  this 
same  argument,  that  caste  is  incompatible  with  the  spirit  of 
their  religion  and  must  therefore  be  abandoned  by  their 
adherents.  Neither  is  it  a  great  consolation  to  know  that 
during  all  the  stages  of  its  history,  from  the  time  of  Buddhism 
onwards,  religious  reformers  have  continually  arisen  and  founded 
sects  in  whose  polity  and  programme  the  suppression  of  caste 
has  ever  been  one  of  the  leading  items.  We  know  too  little  of 
the  secret  history  of  these  two  religions  and  of  these  sects,  but 
so  far  as  we  are  able  to  trace  their  development  we  notice  that 
in  nearly  every  case  a  time  of  religious  exaltation  and  definite 
triumph  over  caste  has  been  succeeded  by  a  period  in  which 
the  caste  demon  has  again  gained  the  upper  hand,  and  that  not 
only,  outwardly  considered,  have  the  sects  which  so  decisively 
separated  themselves  from  their  Hindu  surroundings  finally 
evolved  into  new  castes,  but  that  within  the  sects  themselves 
the  old  caste  distinctions  have  revived  with  perhaps  redoubled 
energy. 

5.  Pantheism 

The  chief  rampart  of  heathenism  in  India,  however,  is 
Indian  pantheism.^  Whereas  we  find  as  the  substratum  of 
Indian  society  innumerable  peoples,  tribes,  and  groups  of  Pariahs 
and  low-caste  folk,  who  are  mostly  animists  or  demon- 
worshippers,  and  whereas  the  great  broad  belt  of  the  intermediate 
strata  is  composed  of  the  countless  classes  and  sects  of  those 
who  worship  a  multifarious  succession  of  gods  and  religious 
myths,  the  highest  stratum  of  all,  equally  widespread  and 
exceedingly  influential,  is  made  up  of  those  theosophically  and 
philosophically  inclined  spirits  who  have  become  more  or  less 
consistent  adherents  of  one  of  the  six  orthodox  systems  of 
Hindu  philosophy  and  who  profess  their  tenets.  And  just  as 
animism   extends  its  influence  for  a  considerable    distance  in 

^  The  Qudkn  are  the  monumental  edition  of  the  Sacred  Books  of  the  East  (up  to 
1893,  41  vols.)  compiled  by  Prof.  Max  Mtiller  in  collaboration  with  English  and 
German  scholars  ;  and  also  the  Bibliotheca  Indica,  published  in  Calcutta,  in  which 
Sankara's  great  commentary  on  Badarayana's  Brahma  Sutra  {1863)  is  of  especial 
value.  Based  on  these  original  texts  the  following  expositions  are  of  particular  value  : 
W.  Dilger,  Die  Erlosu>tg  des  Menschen  nach  Hinduismus  und  Chrjstentiim,  Basle 
1902 — a  masterly  monograph,  whose  conclusions  for  the  most  part  are  adopted  in  these 
pages  ;  Paul  Deussen,  Das  System  d,'S  Vedanta,  Leipzig  1883  ;  Oldenberg,  Keltgio7t  des 
Veda  ;  Prof.  Dr.  Gar  be,  Die  Sa/nkhya  Philosophic  ;  ibid.,  Samkhya  Yoga  ;  Dahlmann, 
Nirvana;  Gough,  The  Philosophy  of  the  Upanishads.  Further,  Bose,  Hindu  Philo- 
sophy; SirM,  Monier- Williams,  y«(^2a«  Wisdom  ;  Dr.  von  Schroder,  Indiens  Literatur 
und  Kultur. 


RELIGIOUS  PROBLEMS  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS     263 

an  upward  direction,  so  also  do  the  speculative  influences, 
emanating  from  the  highest  and  philosophical  section  of  the 
community,  strike  their  roots  far  down  into  the  main  mass 
of  Hinduism,  impregnating  it  to  an  extent  that  philosophy 
has  never  done  amongst  any  other  civilised  race,  many  of 
its  tenets  having  become  the  common  property  of  the  whole 
Indian  people. 

That  a  strong  philosophic  and  meditative  trend  of  thought 
characterised  from  the  beginning  the  Aryans  who  migrated  to 
India — as  also  their  cousins  german  the  Greeks  and  the 
Teutons — we  may  learn  even  from  the  earliest  portions  of  the 
Vedas ;  in  these  we  find  the  fruitful  germs  of  pantheistic 
speculation,  buried  it  is  true  beneath  a  realistic  view  of  life 
which  regards  the  abode  of  the  gods,  sin,  atonement,  death,  and 
felicity  after  death,  as  undoubted  realities.  In  the  broad  fields 
of  the  Upanishads  the  pantheistic  germs  and  impulses  have 
grown  exuberantly  ;  everywhere  the  way  is  being  prepared  for 
new  conceptions  of  life  and  of  the  world.  These  manifold 
tendencies  were  then  taken  in  hand  by  the  six  orthodox  schools 
of  philosophy  (the  "  Darsanas ")  and  reduced  to  ordered 
philosophical  systems.  By  far  the  most  influential  of  these  are 
the  twin-schools  of  Sankhya  and  Yoga,  which  teach  a  crude 
dualism  of  mind  and  matter  (purusha  and  prakrit),  strongly 
deny  the  existence  of  a  world-creating  and  world-preserving 
Deity,  and  dissolve  the  world  of  spirits  into  so  many  atoms. 
Still  more  important  are  the  Mimansa  and  Vedanta  schools, 
which  teach  a  logical  and  consistent  monism. 

It  cannot  be  supposed  that  we  intend  in  these  pages  either 
to  follow  up  this  theological  and  philosophical  development  in 
detail  or  to  expound  the  tenets  of  these  schools  of  philosophy. 
For  this  an  adequate  literature  is  accessible.  We  shall  merely 
seek  to  show,  from  some  of  the  most  widely  accepted  categories 
of  belief,  in  whatdirect  and  absolute  contradiction  to  Christianity 
all  these  conceptions  of  life  stand. 

In  reality  only  Brahma,  the  absolute  Self,  exists ;  He  alone 
is  possessed  of  real  existence.  All  the  phenomena  of  nature, 
even  separate  individuals,  possess  no  real  existence.  Just  as 
ether  is  a  uniform  continuous  whole  and  suffers  no  essential 
change  when  it  passes  into  empty  vessels  of  varying  capacity, 
but  on  the  contrary  is  instantly  reunited  to  the  universal  ether 
the  moment  the  vessels  are  broken,  so  is  Brahma  in  relation  to 
natural  phenomena.  "  Just  as  that  disc  of  light,  the  sun,  mirroreth 
itself  oft  in  varying  waters,  so  as  it  was  predetermined  appeareth 
in  varying  forms  the  unborn  Self,  the  God,  in  the  bodies  of 
men.  .  .  .  The  essence  of  the  soul  is  truly  but  one,  yet  is  it 
seen  split  up  into  as  many  fractions  as  is  the  number  of  the 


264  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

children  of  men;  simple  is  it,  yet  manifold  as  the  moon's 
reflection  upon  the  face  of  the  waters.  ...  In  Him  from  whom 
they  come,  who  sustaineth  them  all,  even  in  the  Lord  of  All 
(Brahma),  doth  all  creation  find  an  origin,  a  continuance  and  an 
end,  just  as  the  bubbles  of  the  surf  are  dissolved  in  the  billows 
whence  they  have  been  tossed.  .  .  .  The  whole  world  is  verily 
naught  save  the  absolute  Self,  and  of  different  essence  to  that 
Self  is  no  created  thing.  And  like  as  vessels  consist  only 
of  dust,  so  doth  the  wise  man  see  in  his  own  self  totality" 
{Sankai-a's  A  tinabodha). 

This  absolute  sole-existent  Brahma  has,  however,  nothing 
but  negative  attributes.  He  is  perfectly  changeless,  eternally 
without  desire,  without  will,  self-absorbed  and  without  self-con- 
sciousness. Three  attributes  are,  it  is  true,  ascribed  to  Him, 
being,  thought,  and  felicity  ;  but  this  felicity  only  means  freedom 
from  sorrow,  and  sublimity  above  the  cycle  of  birth,  death,  and 
transmigration  of  soul,  whilst  being  and  thought  are  specifically 
declared  to  be  identical.  Thus  this  absolute  Being  bears  no 
kind  of  relation,  least  of  all  a  conscious  relation,  to  anything 
outside  Himself — to  a  co-existent  world,  for  instance. 

Now  the  actual  task  of  philosophy  is  to  lead  the  individual 
to  realise  that  he  himself  is  only  Brahma,  is  nothing  but 
Brahma.  "  There  is  no  '  I '  nor '  Thou,'  all  is  one  ;  it  is  either  all 
'  I '  or  all  *  thou.'  The  idea  of  duality,  of  dualism,  is  entirely 
false,  and  the  entire  universe  is  the  result  of  this  false  knowledge  " 
{Sivami  Vivekananda,  Brahmavadin,  vol  i.  p.  310).  "The 
teaching  of  the  Vedanta  comes  to  this,  then,  that  in  the  universe 
'  thou '  and  '  I '  are  absolute,  not  parts  of  the  absolute,  but  the 
whole.  Thou  art  the  whole  of  that  absolute,  and  it  stands  in 
the  same  relation  to  all  other  things.  For  the  idea  of  a  part 
finds  in  it  no  place"  [ibid.  ii.  p.  225). 

Naturally  for  him  who  is  thus  absolutely  one  with  Brahma, 
who  is  identical  with  Him,  there  is  neither  sin  nor  evil ;  what 
he  does,  Brahma  does  or  appears  to  do, — for  in  reality  all  deed 
is  only  semblance,  i.e.  Maya.  In  one  Upanishad  the  following 
words  are  placed  in  the  mouth  of  the  god  Indra :  "  Know  me 
only;  that  is  what  1  deem  most  beneficial  for  man,  that  he 
should  know  me.  .  .  .  And  he  who  knows  me  thus,  by  no 
deed  of  his  is  his  life  harmed,  not  by  the  murder  of  his  mother, 
not  by  the  murder  of  his  father,  not  by  theft,  not  by  the  killing  of 
a  Brahman.  If  he  is  going  to  commit  a  sin,  the  bloom  does 
not  depart  from  his  face  "  {Kaiishitaki  Upanishad). 

Likewise  there  exists  for  such  an  one  no  redemption  ;  it  is 
not  necessary.  The  individual  is  none  other  than  the  blissful, 
passionless  Brahma,  and  he  only  need  recognise  this  to  be  free 
from  all  the  sorrows  of  this  earthly  life  and  also  from  all  the 


RELIGIOUS  TROBLEMS  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS      265 

misery  of  soul-transmigration — for  these  things  are  all  illusion, 
Maya.  For  him  who  has  won  his  way  through  to  real  exist- 
ence, to  Brahma,  this  whole  world  vanishes  away  like  morning 
mist  before  the  rising  sun.  "  The  fetter  of  the  heart  is  broken, 
all  doubts  are  solved,  all  his  works  (and  their  effects)  perish, 
when  He  has  been  beheld  who  is  high  and  low "  {ATundaka 
Upan.  ii.  2,  8).  "  Self  is  a  bank,  a  boundary,  so  that  these 
worlds  may  not  be  confounded.  Day  and  night  do  not  pass 
that  bank,  nor  old  age,  death  and  grief;  neither  good  deeds 
nor  evil  deeds.  All  evil-doers  turn  back  from  it,  for  the  world 
of  Brahma  is  free  from  all  evil"  {Chdndogya  Upan.  viii.  4,  i). 
"  One  already  redeemed  in  his  bodily  life  is  he,  who  expelling 
ignorance,  recognises  the  indivisible  Brahma  as  his  own  being, 
and  who  realising  the  indivisible  Brahma  to  be  his  own  exist- 
ence, and  having  become  free  from  all  fetters  through  the 
removal  of  ignorance  and  its  consequences, — the  multiplication 
of  good  works,  doubt,  error,  and  the  like — is  absorbed  com- 
pletely into,  and  is  made  one  with,  Brahma  "  (  Vcdantasara,  34). 

The  duty  of  the  learned  and  devout  consists,  therefore,  in 
a  withdrawal  from  this  outer  world  of  semblance  and  deception, 
and  in  living  solely  in  and  for  Brahma.  "  He  into  whom  all 
objects  of  desire  enter,  as  water  enters  the  ocean,  which 
(though)  replenished,  (still)  keeps  its  portion  unmoved — he 
only  obtains  tranquillity ;  not  he  who  desires  (those)  objects 
of  desire.  The  man  who,  casting  off  all  desires,  lives  free  from 
attachments,  who  is  free  from  egotism,  and  from  (the  feeling 
that  this  or  that  is)  mine,  obtains  tranquillity.  This,  O  son 
of  Pritha !  is  the  Brahmic  state ;  attaining  to  this,  one  is  never 
deluded ;  and  remaining  in  it  in  (one's)  last  moments,  one 
attains  (brahma-nirvana)  the  Brahmic  bliss."  ^  Yes,  that  is  it, 
Nirvana  extinction  ;  for  since  Brahma,  the  absolute  Self,  wholly 
lacks  self-consciousness,  this  latter  must  of  course  be  extin- 
guished in  all  those  who  are  absorbed  in  Brahma. 

That  is,  as  far  as  its  main  lines  go,  the  picture  of  the  world 
in  which  the  Hindus  live  and  meditate — an  illusion  entirely 
removed  from  this  world  of  realities,  from  the  strife  and  the 
sorrows  of  earthly  existence,  an  illusion  which  not  only  sets 
itself  in  deadly  opposition  to  all  objective  knowledge,  but  even 
more  to  every  activity  of  the  personality.  It  is  unnecessary  to 
point  out  that  such  a  conception  stands  diametrically  opposed 
to  Christianity  at  all  points.  This  Brahma  has  nothing  in 
common  with  the  God  of  Love,  this  redemption  bears  no 
analogy  to  the  blessed  entrance  into  life  everlasting ;  this 
setting  aside  of  sin  and  evil  principally  contradicts  the  ethical 
positiveness  of  Christianity.  And  the  serious  part  of  the 
^  Bhagavad  Gita,  ii.  70-72. 


2  66  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

matter  is,  that  this  philosophical  pantheism  employs  the  same 
conceptions — God,  the  world,  sin,  salvation,  blessedness,  etc. — 
as  Christianity,  only  these  conceptions  have  an  entirely  different 
content,  and  the  Hindus,  who  are  held  captive  in  their  vision 
world,  as  in  an  enchanted  garden,  find  the  comprehension  of 
Christian  doctrine  thereby  rendered  unspeakably  difficult.  The 
main  error  is  that  from  the  absolute  Brahma  the  conception  of 
personality,  ix.  of  differentiate  thought,  of  purposeful  will, 
of  love  seeking  an  object,  is  expunged,  and  in  its  place  we  are 
merely  offered  Brahma,  in  a  condition  of  dreamless  age-long 
slumber,  in  which  all  thought,  feeling,  and  will  remain  in  entire 
unconsciousness.  And  as  is  Brahma,  so  is  the  seeker  after 
Brahma,  the  wise  man  ;  and  this  gazing  upon  the  unconscious 
impersonal  Brahma  deadens  all  personality  in  the  individual, 
destroys  the  power  of  comprehending  what  is  meant  by  in- 
dividuality, and  banishes  the  sense  of  sin  and  conscience  to 
the  shadowy  realms  of  Maya  and  mirage. 

The  outer  physical  world,  however,  is  too  tangible  a  reality, 
and  its  existence  had  been  too  candidly  acknowledged  by  the 
earlier  poets  and  philosophers  of  India,  for  Vedic  philosophy 
thus  easily  to  ignore  it.  The  theory  of  the  threefold  being 
was  invented  to  account  for  the  discrepancy.  A  state  of  true 
and  actual  being  appertains  to  Brahma  alone.  On  the  other 
hand,  man  is  often  deluded  by  a  state  of  being  utterly  unreal, 
as  for  instance  in  the  "  Fata  Morgana,"  or  when  a  wanderer  by 
night  takes  a  piece  of  rope  for  a  snake,  or  a  bush  for  a  footpad. 
Betwixt  these  two  states  of  being,  the  real  and  the  unreal,  there  lies 
an  extensive  region  of  relative  or  conventional  being.  In  so  far 
as  this  partakes  of  Brahma,  it  is  true  existence  ;  but  in  so  far  as 
factors  other  than  Brahma  appear  potential  within  it,  it  is  unreal 
existence.    Within  this  region  lies  the  whole  of  the  physical  world. 

A  second  principle  has  been  incorporated  with  this  Absolute 
Self  of  Brahma,  that  of  illusion  or  nescience  (Maya  =  illusion, 
Avidya  or  Ajnana  =  nescience).  Whilst  this  second  principle 
is  evolving,  the  Brahma  is  girt  about  with  a  veil  of  concealment 
(Upadhi),  is  subject  to  limitations  and  determination,  and  the 
absolute  is  thereby  individualised  in  particular  forms  and 
phenomena.  This  process  is  one  of  gradual  progress,  and 
higher  and  lower  manifestations  of  relative  "being"  can  be 
distinguished,  in  some  of  which  the  Brahma  is  comparatively 
pure,  whilst  in  others  He  is  entirely  concealed  beneath  that 
which  is  material.  This  may  also  be  termed  the  emanation  of 
Brahma.  Thus  the  philosopher  differentiates  four  stages  or  phases 
of  the  Brahma  :  (i)  the  "  fourth  stage,"  the  absolute  Brahma, "  the 
incomprehensible,  the  imperceptible,  the  unthinkable,  the  un- 
namable.  He  who  is  unattainable  without  a  knowledge  of  the 


RELIGIOUS  PROBLEMS  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS     267 

oneness  of  self,  the  one  in  whom  that  which  is  manifold  finds 
culmination,  the  motionless,  the  blissful,  the  only  one ;  (2)  the 
"deep-slumbering"  Brahma,  "at  one  with  Himself,  an  indis- 
tinguishable mass  of  knowledge,  formed  of  beatitude,  enjoy- 
ing beatitude,  approachable  through  consciousness.  .  .  .  This 
is  the  womb  of  all  things,  whence  all  things  created  have 
proceeded  and  whither  they  shall  all  return  "  ;  (3)  the  Brahma 
of  the  "  dream-state  "  or  "  dream-sleep  "  ;  and  (4)  the  Brahma  in 
the  "  state  of  wakefulness,"  These  and  other  similar  gnostic 
constructions  are  attempts  to  bridge  over  the  gap  between 
the  absolute  self-contained  self  and  the  world  of  reality. 

That  is  as  much  as  to  say  that  for  the  enlightened  philo- 
sopher, the  wise  man,  there  exists  nothing  ;  for  in  reality  there  is 
nothing  but  the  absolute  Brahma ;  the  concealing  veils  of 
Brahma  (Upadhi)  are  nothing  but  illusion  (Maya)  or  nescience 
(Avidya).  But  it  is  here  that  the  philosopher  distinguishes 
between  an  esoteric  philosophy  destined  only  for  the  wise,  the 
initiated,  and  an  exoteric,  intended  for  the  ignorant.  And  he 
manipulates  the  latter  as  though  it  were  concerned  with  actual 
entities,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  everything  is  only  Maya  and 
Avidya. 

In  the  wide  region  of  relative  "  being,"  which  is  a  subject  of 
endless  speculation  and  which  in  its  entirety  constitutes  the 
"  lower  Brahma,"  there  are  three  groups  of  ideas  which  are  of 
importance  to  Christian  missions.  It  is  amazing  with  what 
tenacity,  universality,  and  implicitness  two  doctrines  are 
accepted  throughout  India,  from  the  most  transcendental 
philosopher  down  to  the  very  meanest  Chandal — the  doctrines 
of  the  transmigration  of  souls,  and  of  retribution.  It  has  not 
yet  been  clearly  explained  whence  the  Indian  belief  in  soul- 
migration  is  actually  derived,  but  it  is  certain  that  in  the  oldest 
Vedic  literature  we  find  neither  mention  nor  suggestion  of  it. 
However  that  may  be,  it  is  the  universal  belief  that  at  death 
the  soul  quits  the  human  body  and  for  a  time  betakes  itself  to 
the  moon  or  to  the  Yama  Hell.  After  a  longer  or  shorter  time 
it  migrates  to  a  second  body,  and  on  death  again  ensuing  to  a 
third,  a  fourth,  etc.,  and  this  transmigration  is  repeated  infinitely, 
until  the  saving  knowledge  of  the  all  in  all  has  dawned  upon  the 
soul  and  it  becomes  aware  of  its  identity  with  Brahma.  There 
it  finds  rest  and  passes  by  death  into  Brahma,  where  it  expires 
(Nirvana). 

This  doctrine  of  the  transmigration  of  souls  is  inseparably 
bound  up  with  that  of  retribution,  according  to  which  every 
deed  receives  with  absolute  certainty  and  mathematical  exact- 
itude its  due  recompense  of  reward.  As  this  retribution  only 
very  partially  takes  place  during  this  life,  a  man's  works  follow 


268  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

his  soul  into  his  next  incarnation,  and  in  such  a  manner  that 
they  determine  the  character  and  degree  of  the  new  birth, 
whether  Brahman  or  Chandal,  whether  cow  or  snake,  or  even 
noxious  worm.  This  law  of  retribution  is  inexorable  and 
inevitable,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  there  is  no  God  to  execute  it, 
and  although  there  is  no  self-consciousness  by  which  recollec- 
tion of  a  previous  state  of  existence  may  be  brought  to  mind, 
nor  the  deeds  ascertained  which  have  merited  the  precise  form 
of  incarnation.  It  will  easily  be  seen  what  a  convenient  basis 
this  doctrine  affords  to  the  caste  system  of  India,  and  how  it 
fosters  the  arrogance  of  the  higher  castes, — for  have  not  the 
latter  merited  their  high  station  by  their  virtuous  behaviour  in 
a  former  existence,  and  is  not  the  Chandal  in  his  low  degree 
reaping  the  reward  of  long-past  crimes  ? 

Now  who  is  it  that  suffers  this  transmigration  ?  What  is 
the  nature  of  the  "  soul  "  that  migrates?  Differing  infinitely  as 
to  details,  the  schools  of  philosophy  are  yet  one  in  the  belief 
that  the  soul  possesses  a  "  pure  "  body,  which  is  built  up  from 
the  "  pure  fundamental  substances  "  of  matter.  Amongst  views 
that  are  widely  disseminated  we  find  those  of  the  Sankhya 
school.  According  to  them,  the  soul  is  made  up  of  three 
fundamental  substances  of  the  Prakriti  (nature  or  matter) : 
Sattva  or  light,  Ragas  or  twilight,  and  Tamah  or  darkness. 
"Bewilderment,  fear,  grief,  sleep,  sk  t'l,  carelessness,  decay, 
sorrow,  hunger,  thirst,  niggardliness,  wr.Ah,  infidelity,  ignorance, 
envy,  cruelty,  folly,shamelessness,  meanness,  pride,  changeability, 
these  are  the  results  of  the  quality  of  darkness  (Tamah). 
Inward  thirst,  fondness,  passion,  covetousness,  unkindness,  love, 
hatred,  deceit,  jealousy,  vain  restlessness — these  are  the  results 
of  the  quality  of  passion  (Ragas).  By  these  he  is  filled,  by  these 
he  is  overcome,  and  therefore  this  elemental  Self  assumes  mani- 
fold forms,  yes,  manifold  forms  "  {^Maitrayana  BrdJimana  Upan., 
iii.  5).  Thus  does  the  "substance"  of  the  soul  condition  and 
determine  its  character  and  the  main  lines  of  its  moral  conduct. 

All  these  categories  of  thought  are  likewise  wholly  opposed 
to  the  Christian  gospel,  and  the  more  widely  and  the  more 
generally  their  principles  are  recognised,  so  much  greater  is  the 
obstacle  to  the  comprehension  and  adoption  of  Christian  truth. 
This  doctrine  of  retribution  closes  both  heart  and  ear  at  once  to 
teaching  concerning  the  forgiveness  of  sins  and  the  Last  Judg- 
ment. The  fear  of  the  transmigration  of  the  soul  makes  a 
man's  whole  salvation  consist  in  his  being  set  free  from  the 
necessity  of  reincarnation  ;  and  this  materialistic  doctrine  of  the 
soul  devolves  the  curse  of  evil-doing  simply  upon  the  general 
composition  of  soul  "  substance,"  and  by  so  doing  destroys  all 
sense  of  guilt  and  all  aspiration  after  moral  regeneration. 


RELIGIOUS  PROBLEMS  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS     269 

Thus  this  world  of  Indian  philosophy,  despite  its  many 
profound  speculations  and  its  surprisingly  beautiful  isolated 
dicta  and  conceptions,  is  on  the  whole  thoroughly  at  enmity 
with  the  preaching  of  the  gospel.  It  opposes  to  such  preach- 
ing a  wall  hard  to  be  passed  over,  and  demands  of  the 
missionaries  in  the  endless  disentanglement  of  its  various 
systems  and  schools  of  thought  intellectual  labour  such  as  is 
necessitated  by  no  other  religion.  It  is  true  that  the  degree 
to  which  this  philosophy  is  accepted  differs  with  the  various 
strata  of  the  population.  The  actual  Brahman  schools  of 
philosophy,  their  Tols  and  Patashalas  in  Benares,  Ajodhya, 
Nadiya,  Bombay,  etc.,  are  very  hard  soil  for  missionary  work  ; 
all  who  would  work  in  those  districts  must  not  only  have  a 
thorough  knowledge  of  Indian  philosophy,  they  must  also  be 
complete  masters  of  Sanskrit,  speaking  it  fluently  and  even 
elegantly.  There  have  been  but  few  missionaries  who  have 
accomplished  this :  Carey  in  Calcutta,  Wilson  in  Bombay,  and 
in  later  years  Johnson,  the  Church  Missionary  Society's 
representative  at  Benares,  the  only  missionary  at  the  present 
time  versed  in  the  North  Indian  schools  of  philosophy.^  In 
this  difficultfield  the  profound  as  well  as  scientifically  valuable 
writings  of  Pandit  Nehemiah  Goreh^  are  of  importance. 

But  the  peculiar  thing  about  India  is  that  these  philosophical 
conceptions  have  penetrated  deep  down  into  the  heart  of  the 
people,  in  fact  they  have  in  many  cases  become  the  common 
property  of  all  the  Hindus.  A  predisposition  towards  the 
transcendental,  the  influence  of  the  climate,  the  historical 
development  of  the  people,  have  all  combined  with  these  same 
philosophical  ideas  to  cause  the  mind  of  the  Hindu  to  turn 
away  from  the  real  world  of  actuality  to  that  of  abstract  specu- 
lation, to  a  world  of  metaphysics  in  which  he  may  brood  and 
dream.  To  how  great  an  extent  the  Hindus  are  dominated  by 
this  peculiarly  Oriental  state  of  mind  is  proved  by  the  highly 
instructive  article  of  the  Rev.  H.  Haigh,  a  Wesleyan  missionary, 
on  "  The  Average  Hindu  "  {Allgeju.  Miss.  Zeitschrift,  vol,  xxiii. 
p.  384  et  seq.).  Only  in  recent  times  have  evangelical  missions 
commenced  to  take  this  world  of  Hindu  ideas  into  serious 
consideration  ;  we  shall  give  some  account  of  this  part  of  the 
subject  in  the  chapter  on  the  literary  side  of  missionary 
work. 

This  philosophical  bent  of  the  Indian  thought-world  renders 
particularly  difficult  the  transference  and  translation'of  Christian 
ideas  into  the  Indian  tongues.     Not  that  we  find  in  them  any 

^  Cf.  InielL,  1905,  p.  26,  "  In  the  Sanskrit  Colleges  and  Monasteries  of  Ajodhya." 
"^Sketches  of  huiian  Christians,-^.  M,"!  et  setj.;   Altge?n.  Miss.  Zeitschrift,  1903, 
p.  518  f/  seq. 


27 Q  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

such  lack  of  expressions  for  higher  truth  and  for  abstract  terms 
as  is  frequently  the  case  with  uncivilised  peoples  ;  on  the  con- 
trary, such  expressions  abound  in  all  the  civilised  languages  of 
India.  But  the  terms  in  question  are  all  more  or  less  interfused 
with  pantheism,  or  with  the  conception  of  life  developed  there- 
from, and  they  therefore  call  up  associations  of  ideas  in  the 
minds  of  hearers  and  readers  which  are  unfavourable  to  the 
apprehension  of  the  truth.  Moreover,  since  these  languages 
possess  both  an  ancient  and  a  modern  literature,  a  missionary 
is  not  in  a  position  to  coin  new  expressions  at  v/ill ;  such 
expressions  would  fail  to  be  understood,  and  would  take  no  root 
in  the  language.  We  adduce  several  examples  from  South  Indian 
languages,  which  will  at  the  same  time  serve  to  demonstrate 
the  extreme  care  with  which  a  translator  is  forced  to  proceed.^ 

The  number  of  names  of  gods  is  amazingly  large.  If  one 
were  to  ask  a  Tamil  "  munshi "  how  many  expressions  there  are 
for  the  gods  in  his  language  alone,  he  would  answer,  "It  is 
impossible  to  say,  there  are  so  many."  But  which  dare  we  use 
to  translate  the  Christian  word  "  God "  ?  One  of  the  most 
popular  is  certainly  "  Swami,"  "  lord,"  "  possessor,"  or  "  owner"  ; 
but  the  same  word  is  also  quite  generally  a  title  of  honour  given  to 
the  Brahmans.  "  Kathavul,"  "  the  highest  being,"  is  too  pantheistic 
to  be  adopted  for  literary  work,  though  in  preaching  it  is 
largly  made  use  of.  "  Isvara,"  "  lord,"  is  also  common  to  all  the 
Indian  languages,  and  is  found  in  many  compounds,  but  in 
philosophical  terminology  it  is  a  much  used  technical  expression 
for  a  phase  of  the  lower  Brahma  in  union  with  Avidya,  i.e.  it 
describes  God  as  caught  in  the  toils  of  Maya  ;  for  Christian 
purposes,  therefore,  the  word  is  useless.  The  Roman  Catholics 
have  chosen  a  combination  of  Isvara,  Sarvisvara,  the  "  Lord  of 
All "  ;  but  it  is  a  name  which  to  the  Hindu  has  a  decidedly  foreign 
ring,  and  it  has  taken  no  hold  upon  the  language,  whilst  to 
philosophers  it  is  a  thoroughly  pantheistic  term.  The  excellent 
Tamil  translator  among  the  Danish  veterans,  Philip  Fabricius, 
following  the  example  of  Walther,  chose  for  "  God  "  the  word 
"  Paraparan,"  "  the  Absolute."  The  great  disadvantage  of  this 
word  is  that  the  middle  long  a  may  be  used  in  a  nega- 
tive as  well  as  an  intensive  sense,  and  it  may  just  as  soon  be 
said  to  describe  God  as  the  "  Relative,"  as  the  "  Absolute."  The 
English  translators  amongst  the  evangelical  missionaries  to  the 
Tamils  have  therefore  preferred  the  word  "  Devan,"  and  yet  even 
that  only  means  "  one  God  amongst  many."  In  Malayalam 
Dr.  Gundert  has  taken  from  the  same  root  the  word  "  Daivam," 
which  corresponds  pretty  nearly  to  our  own  "  Godhead."     None 

^  Stosch,  Im  fernen  Indien,  p.  134;  W.  Dilger,  Das  Kingen  mit  der  Landes- 
sprache  in  der  indischen  Missionsarbeit,  p.  18  «/  se^. 


RELIGIOUS  PROBLEMS  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS     271 

of  these  words  appear  to  be  wholly  satisfactory  or  free  from 
objection. 

With  regard  to  the  word  "  redemption,"  the  anxiety  of  the 
translators  lest  the  brightness  of  Christian  truth  should  be 
overcast  by  any  shade  of  pantheism  was  so  great  that  they  pre- 
ferred to  reject  the  well-known  and,  to  the  Hindus,  sweet- 
sounding  words  "  mukti,  moksham,"'  and  instead  to  adopt 
Dravidian  derivatives  from  the  roots  "  vindeduka,  vindukolka," 
"  to  buy  free." 

Christian  baptism  has  its  "  analogon  "  in  the  levitical  ablutions 
and  in  the  bathings  of  the  Brahmans — which  are  everywhere 
termed  "snanam."  It  has  therefore  been  deemed  wiser  to  differ- 
entiate "  baptism  "  by  a  distinguishing  suffix,  and  as  the  name  for 
heathenism  is  "Ajnana,"  "uncertainty,"  the  suffix  "  jnana,"  "  true 
wisdom,"  has  been  chosen;  the  compound  "jnanasnanam,"  "  bath 
of  true  wisdom,"  is  the  term  thus  obtained.  It  cannot  be  said  to 
be  a  clever  term,  either  philologically  or  essentially,  and  for  this 
reason  it  has  failed  to  maintain  its  place,  but  the  question  is, 
what  to  substitute  for  it.  The  Baptists  would  like  a  word  which 
unmistakably  means  "  to  dip  "  to  be  adopted ;  the  English  are 
in  part  satisfied  with  the  Anglo-Greek  word  *'  baptism " ;  the 
Germans  use  the  simple,  handy,  but  easily  misconstrued  "snanam," 
"  bath." 

The  expressions  "  spirit  "  and  "  soul "  present  great  difficulties 
if  both  are  used  referring  to  the  human  spirit,  and  especially 
when  they  are  written  one  after  the  other.  It  is  just  in  this 
region  of  psychology  that  Indian  philosophers  have  invented  the 
most  complicated  theories,  all  turning  more  or  less  on  the  words 
in  question.  For  "  spirit,"  the  old  Sanskrit  word  "atma"  (Ger. 
atem\  "  breath,"  has  been  retained  in  Malayalam ;  it  denotes 
the  innermost  self  of  a  man,  his  spirit,  though  in  thoroughly 
pantheistic  language  it  stands  for  the"  world-soul,"  the  "absolute 
spirit."  For  "  soul,"  when  it  accompanies  "  spirit,"  Dr.  Gundert 
fixed  on  "  dehi,"  "  the  possessor  of  a  body,  the  spirit  dwelling 
within  a  body,"  but  this  word  means  precisely  the  same  as  "  atma," 
and  cannot  therefore  be  used  in  the  triad  "  body,  soul,  and  spirit," 
if  "  atma "  be  made  use  of.  Neither  can-  it  be  used  with  the 
possessive  pronoun  ;  it  is  impossible,  e.g.,  to  say  "  my  dehi." 
Latterly,  following  the  example  of  the  Kanarese  translators  of 
the  Bible,  the  word  "  prana,"  "  life-breath,"  has  been  preferred. 

At  every  new  revision  of  the  translation  of  the  Bible  and  in 
every  literary  undertaking  in  any  of  the  Indian  languages  the 
task  has  once  again  to  be  grappled  with  as  to  how  a  fitting 
medium,  or  adequate  terminology,  for  the  conveyance  of 
Christian  truth  may  be  arrived  at  in  languages  permeated  with 
the  very  spirit  of  pantheism.     It  is  at  such  times  that  one  sees 


272  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

the  magnitude  of  the  task  of  Christianising  the  popular  con- 
sciousness of  India,  suffused  as  it  is  with  the  age-long  growth 
of  pantheism,  of  transforming  it  into  a  pure  vessel  meet  to 
contain  Divine  truth  and  grace.  The  consideration  of  any 
of  the  problems  of  Indian  missions  thus  briefly  outlined 
strengthens  the  conviction  that  the  main  thing  in  India  is  not 
the  increase  of  the  missionary  staff,  nor  yet  the  increase  in 
the  number  of  mission  stations, — that  is  to  say,  the  extensive 
development  of  missionary  organisation, — but  far  rather  is  it 
an  intellectual  conflict  concerning  the  profoundest  speculations 
of  human  thought  in  matters  of  religion,  of  sociology,  and  of 
knowledge  of  mankind — a  conflict  in  which  Christianity  and  its 
representatives  must  give  irrefutable  evidence  of  the  presence 
of  the  Spirit  of  might  and  of  power. 


CHAPTER   V 
MISSIONARY  ORGANISATION 

I.  The  Anglican  Episcopate 

When  Wilberforce,  Grant,  and  their  friends  joined  the  fight  that 
was  being  waged  over  the  re-issue  of  the  Company's  Charter  in 
1 813,  their  object  was  not  only  to  gain  an  open  door  for  all 
missionaries  but  to  obtain  at  the  same  time  the  establishment  of 
the  Anglican  Church  in  India;  and  the  12th  Resolution  of  the 
new  Charter  accordingly  ran  : — 

"  Resolved,  That  it  is  the  opinion  of  this  Committee  {i.e.  of 
the  House  of  Commons)  that  it  is  expedient  that  the  Church 
Establishment  in  the  British  territories  in  the  East  shall  be 
placed  under  the  superintendence  of  a  Bishop  and  three 
Archdeacons,  and  that  adequate  provision  should  be  made  from 
the  territorial  revenues  of  India  for  their  maintenance," 

Accordingly  an  episcopal  see  was  created  in  Calcutta,  and, 
at  first,  archdeacons  were  located  in  the  three  Indian  capitals. 
But  when  British  territory  in  India  began  to  expand  so 
enormously,  and  when  the  first  four  Bishops  of  Calcutta  were 
suddenly  cut  off  by  death,  it  became  clear  that  at  the  next 
renewal  of  the  Charter  (1833)  independent  bishoprics  must  be 
founded  and  endowed  at  both  Madras  and  Bombay.  And  since 
Ceylon,  as  a  Crown  colony,  does  not  come  under  the  same 
administration  as  the  rest  of  India,  it  was  also  found  possible 
without  too  great  difficulties  to  found  and  endow  a  see  at 
Colombo  (1845).  A"cl  therewith  all  that  could  be  done  along 
the  line  of  parliamentary  legislation  and  State  endowment  was 
accomplished,  and  for  the  next  three  decades  episcopal 
development  came  to  a  standstill.  Only  in  the  last  quarter  of 
the  century  did  it  revive  in  a  movement  which  had  its  parallel 
in  every  branch  of  missionary  work  during  the  same  period.  The 
Tractarian  Movement  had  been  at  its  height  in  England  since 
1850,  and  with  its  enthusiasm  for  the  historic  Church  and  ritual- 
istic ideals  had  enormously  raised  the  standing  and  increased 
18 


2  74  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

the  influence  of  the  episcopal  office.  It  became  a  dogma  in 
these  High  Church  circles  that  a  mission  without  a  bishop 
is  incomplete,  and  therefore  ecclesiastically  unsound.  The 
episcopal  duties  of  ordination,  confirmation,  and  church  con- 
secration were  so  rigorously  reserved  for  bishops  that  it  was 
found  their  number  would  have  to  be  considerably  increased  if 
they  were  to  be  able  to  minister  to  the  rapidly  increasing  and 
widely  scattered  Anglican  community  on  the  mission  field.  As 
the  same  needs  existed  in  all  the  British  colonies,  the  Colonial 
Bishoprics'  Fund  was  inaugurated  in  England  in  1841  with  the 
special  object  of  furthering  the  endowment  of  new  bishoprics 
in  the  colonies.  But  in  India  it  was  difficult  to  find  just  cause 
why  new  bishoprics  should  be  founded.  By  Act  of  Parliament 
almost  the  whole  of  British  India  had  been  portioned  out  as 
the  peculiar  domain  of  the  four  existing  bishops ;  only 
by  a  new  Act  of  Parliament  could  these  boundaries  be 
changed,  and  it  was  deemed  hopeless  to  introduce  such 
an  Act. 

Bishop  Wilberforce,  the  son  of  the  great  philanthropist, 
sought  to  avoid  this  difficulty  by  bringing  a  motion  before 
Parliament  in  1853  whereby  permission  was  to  be  given  for  the 
creation  of  missionary  bishops  specially  for  native  churches 
within  the  then  existing  bishoprics.  The  motion,  however,  fell 
through.  Other  means  had  to  be  devised.  At  first  an  attempt 
was  made  (in  1877)  to  appoint  Sargent  and  Caldwell,  the  two 
most  distinguished  missionaries  in  the  two  Anglican  Tinnevelly 
Missions  (the  C.M.S.  and  the  S.P.G.)  to  the  office  of  Superin- 
tendents, and  as  such  to  ordain  them  as  suffragans  to  the  Bishop 
of  Madras.  That  was  purely  an  ecclesiastical  action  ;  but  the 
bishops  thus  consecrated  had  for  that  very  reason  no  spiritual 
jurisdiction  save  only  as  representatives  of  the  Bishop  of  Madras, 
A  more  practical  plan  was  discovered.  The  territorial  limita- 
tions of  the  different  dioceses  corresponded  exactly  with  the 
amount  of  land  which  had  been  under  English  suzerainty  in 
1 81 3  or  1833  as  the  case  might  be.  There  was  nothing  to 
prevent,  and  that  without  any  new  Acts  of  Parliament,  the 
creation  of  new  bishoprics  in  districts  which  had  accrued  to  the 
English  since  1833.  The  Punjab  and  Burma  were  cases  in 
point,  and  on  these  grounds  the  two  bishoprics  of  Lahore  and 
Rangoon  were  founded  in  1877.  But  the  same  reasoning  would 
not  serve  in  the  case  of  Travancore  or  Cochin,  as  these  two 
countries  were  only  Protectorates,  and  not  English  possessions. 
And  yet,  both  because  of  the  difficulties  of  access  to  these 
countries  and  because  of  the  superabundant  episcopal  equip- 
ment of  the  rival  Syrian  and  Romish  Churches,  it  was  especially 
desirable  to  have  an  Anglican  bishop  there.     The  movers  in  the 


MISSIONARY  ORGANISATION  275 

affair  took  refuge  in  the  so-called  "  Jerusalem  Statute,"  i.e.  the 
parliamentary  decree  by  virtue  of  which  the  bishopric  of 
Jerusalem  had  been  founded  in  1841  ;  thereby  the  Archbishops 
of  Canterbury  and  York  were  empowered,  with  the  assistance  of 
other  bishops,  "to  consecrate  British  subjects,  or  the  subjects  or 
citizens  of  any  foreign  kingdom  or  state,  to  be  Bishops  in  any 
foreign  country,  and,  within  certain  limits,  to  exercise  spiritual 
jurisdiction  over  the  ministers  of  British  congregations  of  the 
United  Church  of  England."  A  bishopric  was  founded  in 
Travancore  in  1879  on  this  basis.  It  was  felt  to  be  an  especially 
grievous  state  of  things  that  the  immense  and  thickly  populated 
United  Provinces  should  be  included  in  the  see  of  Calcutta,  and 
a  reason  was  sought  whereby  these  provinces  might  possess 
their  own  episcopate.  The  first  proposal  that  could  be  devised 
was  to  create  a  bishopric  at  Lucknow,  the  capital  of  Oudh,  for 
that  region  had  only  come  into  the  hands  of  the  English  in 
1856,  and  did  not  therefore,  according  to  the  strict  letter  of  the 
law,  belong  to  the  see  of  Calcutta.  Futhermore,  it  was  argued 
that  no  one  could  hinder  the  Bishop  of  Calcutta  from  deputing 
to  a  newly  appointed  bishop,  "  on  the  basis  of  consensual 
compact  and  canonical  obedience,"  the  pastoral  charge  and 
oversight  of  the  clergy  and  churches  within  a  certain  clearly 
defined  area ;  and  an  Act  of  Parliament  (the  Colonial  Church 
Act,  1874)  was  passed  granting  the  Indian  bishops  permission 
to  ordain  suffragan  bishops.  It  was  by  virtue  of  this  Act  that 
the  Bishop  who  had  been  appointed  to  Lucknow  in  1893  took 
up  his  residence  at  Allahabad  and  henceforward  exercised 
episcopal  authority  over  the  whole  territory  of  the  United 
Provinces.  Similarly,  the  bishopric  of  Ranchi  was  created  in 
1890  for  the  Anglican  missions  in  Chota  Nagpur.  The 
bishopric  of  Tinnevelly  also  was  now  placed  on  a  new  and, 
from  an  ecclesiastical  point  of  view,  more  correct  footing  than 
had  been  the  case  since  the  agreement  of  1877,  by  the  election 
of  a  properly  appointed  Bishop.  And  in  recent  days  (1903),  and 
upon  this  same  basis  of  "  consensual  compact,"  an  eleventh 
bishopric  has  been  created  at  Nagpur  for  the  Central  Provinces 
and  for  Central  India.  Probably  even  this  does  not  represent 
the  last  step  in  the  development  of  the  Anglican  episcopacy  in 
India. 

Our  main  object,  however,  is  to  trace  the  influence  of  this 
episcopal  development  upon  the  missionary  history  of  India. 
The  first  Bishop,  Middleton  (18 14-1822)  was  quite  out  of 
sympathy  with  missionary  work  ;  he  endeavoured  to  act  as  if 
missions  were  non-existent.  He  would  not  issue  ecclesiastical 
licences  to  the  missionaries,  lest  he  should  thereby  recognise 
them    as   regularly   appointed   clergymen,   and   he   refused    to 


2  76  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

ordain  native  preachers.  But  this  unsympathetic  attitude  is  in 
the  long-run  untenable  wherever  an  Anglican  episcopate  exists ; 
according  to  general  Anglican  opinion  there  devolve  upon  the 
episcopate,  as  such,  rights  and  duties  which  should  influence  the 
entire  sphere  of  missionary  operations.  The  Episcopal  Synod 
which  sat  in  Calcutta  in  1877  expressed  itself  with  particular 
exactness  on  this  point.     Its  resolutions  ran  : — 

"  That  the  Bishop  of  every  diocese  is  in  the  last  resort 
responsible  for  all  teaching  given  and  all  work  done  within 
his  diocese  in  the  name  and  under  the  authority  of  the  Church. 

"  That  in  accordance  with  this  principle  every  appointment 
to  the  discharge  of  spiritual  functions  within  the  Church  ought 
to  be  made  with  due  recognition  of  the  ultimate  right  of  the 
Bishop  to  be  consulted  on  such  appointment  and  to  exercise  a 
veto  upon  the  same. 

"  That  it  follows  from  the  same  principle  that  like  recognition 
ought  to  be  accorded  to  the  ultimate  right  of  the  Bishop  to  be 
consulted  with  regard  to  any  change  in  the  management,  order 
of  service,  or  place  of  worship,  of  any  congregation." 

Even  Bishop  Middleton  had  had  the  unpleasant  impression 
that  the  position  he  had  taken  up  was  an  unwarrantable  one, 
and  on  one  occasion  he  had  expressed  himself  in  the  drastic 
words :  "  I  must  either  license  them  or  silence  them."  His 
successor,  the  gracious  and  gifted  Heber,  at  once  took  up 
a  precisely  opposite  position,  and  succeeded  in  retrieving,  by 
his  own  all-attractive  and  winning  personality,  the  false  step 
of  his  unbending  High  Church  predecessor.  The  great  problem 
that  lay  before  the  episcopacy  in  this  new  and  only  correct 
attitude  now  was :  "  How  are  the  rights  and  responsibilities  of 
a  Missionary  Society,  as  a  body  which  sends  out  and  controls 
missionaries,  to  be  differentiated  from  the  all-embracing  pre- 
rogative of  the  Bishops?"  The  High  Church  Society  for  the 
Propagation  of  the  Gospel  settled  the  question  simply  by 
unreservedly  handing  over  the  entire  direction  of  its  missionary 
work  to  the  bishops,  and  contented  itself  with  becoming 
practically  a  collecting  agency  for  missionary  gifts.  This  was 
done  without  any  misgiving,  because  the  Society  could  feel 
sure  that  owing  to  the  widespread  influence  of  High  Church 
principles,  by  far  the  greater  number  of  bishops  would  be  of 
its  way  of  thinking,  and  would  therefore  carry  on  its  work  in 
the  spirit  in  which  it  had  been  commenced.  But  the  evangelical 
Church  Missionary  Society  would  simply  have  dissolved,  would 
have  abandoned  the  cause  of  asserting  and  demonstrating  its 
evangelical  principles,  had  it  similarly  surrendered  to  the 
bishops.  It  was  compelled,  therefore,  to  defend  and  to  fight 
for  its  rights  in  the  face  of  episcopal  opposition.     So  early  as 


MISSIONARY  ORGANISATION  277 

1 81 8,  before  the  point  at  issue  had  become  a  burning  question, 
it  had  cleared  the  ground  by  setting  forth  the  difference  between 
"  external  "  and  "  internal  "  missionary  affairs  :  "  internal  affairs," 
to  wit,  "the  spiritual  power  and  authority  to  ensure  the  con- 
scientious discharge  of  the  duties  of  the  sacred  calling,"  belong 
to  the  bishops ;  the  Society  can  never  assume  control  over  the 
consciences  of  the  missionaries  in  the  exercise  of  their  spiritual 
functions.  On  the  other  hand,  "external  affairs,"  such  as  the 
founding  of  stations,  the  appointment  or  removal  of  missionaries, 
the  enrolling  or  dismissal  of  catechists  and  other  helpers,  the 
regulation  of  salaries,  the  erection  and  maintenance  of  buildings, 
etc.,  belong  to  the  Society,  which  moreover  cannot  relinquish 
the  right  of  appointment  or  dismissal  of  missionaries  according 
as  it  approves  or  condemns  their  theological  beliefs  or  their 
moral  conduct.  These  views  Henry  Venn,  the  greatest 
Missionary  Secretary  the  Church  Missionary  Society  ever 
possessed,  subsequently  worked  into  a  skilfully  developed  system 
which  for  well  balanced  principle  may  be  commended  as  a 
masterpiece  of  ecclesiastical  statesmanship.  But  it  was  in  the 
actual  field  of  practical  experience  that  the  episcopate  and  the 
Society  were  to  adjust  their  differences.  Strangely  enough,  the 
first  conflict  arose  precisely  through  that  Bishop  (Daniel  Wilson, 
of  Calcutta,  1 832-1 858),  who  was  the  most  pronounced  and 
devoted  friend  of  the  Church  Missionary  Society.  Bishop 
Wilson  deemed  it  within  his  episcopal  right  to  claim  that  he 
only  should  have  the  appointment  of  missionaries,  and  also 
that  at  any  time  he  thought  fit  he  should  be  able  to  cancel  the 
appointment  thus  made.  For  two  whole  years,  183  5- 1836, 
a  hot  epistolary  war  was  waged ;  the  Society  was  entirely 
against  the  surrender  of  so  important  a  privilege,  as  this  would 
simply  be  to  confer  upon  the  Bishop  equal  rights  with  itself  in 
the  direction  of  its  own  missionary  work.  But  all  was  of 
no  avail ;  before  the  decided  views  of  Wilson,  who  had  all 
the  traditional  ideas  of  episcopal  authority  on  his  side,  the 
Society  was  bound  to  give  way.  In  the  first  paragraph  of  the 
agreement  drawn  up  between  the  Bishop  and  the  Society,  the 
latter  admitted  the  Bishop's  right  to  make  and  to  cancel  all 
missionary  appointments.  Another  Bishop  (Spencer  of  Madras, 
1837-1849)  at  once  deduced  the  corollary  that  only  the  Bishops, 
and  not  the  Society,  had  the  right  to  revoke  appointments.  A 
gifted  young  missionary  of  Madras,  Humphrey,  had  adopted 
extreme  High  Church  views,  and  Spencer  wished  to  retain  this 
man  in  spite  of  the  wishes  of  the  Society,  and  all  the  more  so 
because  he  himself  had  High  Church  tendencies.  In  this  case, 
however,  the  Society  won  the  day,  and  obtained  recognition  of 
its  own  right  to  sever  its  connection   with    missionaries    when 


278  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

according  to  the  best  of  its  judgment  it  was  desirable  so  to  do. 
For  four  decades  the  work  was  continued  along  the  lines  of  th&se 
early  compacts  ;  and  then  new  and  difficult  conflict  suddenly 
threatened  the  Society. 

In  1875  the  Rev.  R.  S.  Copleston,  a  man  of  High  Church 
tendencies  but  withal  highly  gifted  and  zealous,  was  nominated 
as  Bishop  of  Colombo.  How  times  had  changed  since 
Middleton's  days  !  Copleston  at  once  eagerly  set  to  work  to 
learn  Singhalese  and  to  study  Buddhist  problems ;  he  also 
demanded  of  all  the  chaplains  under  his  orders,  who  were 
scattered  far  and  wide  throughout  the  island,  that  they  should 
vigorously  prosecute  missionary  work  amongst  the  natives  by 
whom  they  were  surrounded.  But  in  almost  all  the  chaplains' 
districts  there  were  Church  Missionary  Society's  missionaries, 
catechists,  and  teachers.  Would  not  hopeless  confusion  ensue 
if  the  chaplains  at  any  time  should  also  begin  evangelistic 
work  ?  Copleston  thought  the  matter  could  be  easily  settled — 
the  chaplains  should  be  simply  regarded  as  chief  shepherds  of 
the  flock,  and  the  missionaries  and  their  helpers  be  placed 
under  their  direction.  But  most  of  the  chaplains  were  young 
men,  whereas  many  of  the  missionaries  had  grown  grey  in  the 
service ;  the  chaplains  were  in  the  main  strict  High  Churchmen, 
the  missionaries  without  exception  Evangelicals. 

The  problem  was  not  so  simple  after  all,  and  out  of  this 
disagreement  concerning  authority  between  Copleston  and  the 
Directors  of  the  Church  Missionary  Society  there  grew  a 
protracted  and  many-sided  conflict,  which  for  five  years, 
1 876-1 880,  agitated  the  hearts  and  minds  of  all  concerned, 
both  in  England  and  Ceylon.  Questions  long  unsolved  were 
brought  into  the  discussion  one  after  the  other. 

The  Bishop  claimed  powers  of  direction  over  the  Tamil 
Coolie  Mission,  a  work  amongst  the  Tamil  coolies  on  the 
Ceylon  tea  plantations,  administered  by  the  Church  Missionary 
Society  in  conjunction  with  members  of  other  Churches.  The 
Committee,  however,  consisting  in  part  as  it  did  of  Presbyterians 
and  Dissenters,  refused  to  submit  to  the  dictation  of  the  High 
Church  Bishop.  The  latter  considered  it  both  his  right  and  his 
duty  formally  to  consecrate  all  churches  and  chapels-of-ease 
where  divine  worship  and  the  Holy  Communion  were  regularly 
celebrated.  But  according  to  the  cumbrous  laws  of  the 
Anglican  Church,  every  place  once  consecrated  by  a  bishop 
must  for  ever  remain  under  his  jurisdiction  and  belong  to  the 
English  State  Church  ;  the  Committee,  therefore,  which  was 
admirably  suited  to  the  ever  varying  conditions  under  which 
its  labour  was  carried  on,  refused  to  consider  for  a  moment 
any  such  episcopal  consecration. 


MISSIONARY  ORGANISATION  279 

The  strife  continually  assumed  new  phases,  though  this  is 
not  the  place  to  depict  them  in  detail.^  Eventually  the  Arch- 
bishops of  Canterbury  and  York,  in  conjunction  with  three 
other  highly  respected  bishops,  undertook  to  restore  peace  by 
investigating  the  whole  of  the  intricate  questions  at  issue  and 
by  pronouncing  their  formal  opinion  thereon.  Their  decision 
was  in  almost  every  point  favourable  to  the  Church  Missionary 
Society:  appointments  once  made  were  not  to  be  cancelled 
except  for  most  serious  reasons,  and  the  latter  were  always  to 
be  indicated  ;  besides  those  for  small  districts,  more  general 
appointments  were  to  be  made  for  wider  tracts  of  country ; 
laymen  in  the  service  of  the  Society  (unordained  catechists, 
school  teachers,  etc.)  were  only  to  be  under  the  control  of  the 
Bishop  while  actually  discharging  pastoral  duties.  The  main 
thing  was  that  the  decision  of  the  prelates  recognised  the 
relative  independence  of  the  Church  Missionary  Society  in  the 
exercise  of  its  missionary  activities.  And  Bishop  Copleston 
was  loyal  enough  to  bow  to  the  decision  and  to  base  upon  its 
conclusions  a  peace  with  the  Church  Missionary  Society  which 
was  equally  honourable  to  both  parties. 

This  crisis  had  demonstrated  one  thing  most  clearly — the 
keen  desire  of  the  bishops  to  obtain  an  independent  interest  in 
work  on  the  missionary  field.  Great  efforts  in  this  direction 
were  made  in  more  than  one  diocese.  As  has  already  been 
mentioned  in  the  sketch  of  the  development  of  missions  on 
p.  156  et  seq.,  Bishop  Middleton  founded  the  "Bishop  College" 
in  Calcutta,  a  valuable  but  also  very  responsible  heritage  for  his 
successors,  among  whom  Daniel  Wilson  in  particular  strove  to 
bring  the  all  but  lifeless  foundation  into  a  thriving  condition. 
This  same  Daniel  Wilson  cherished  another  great  scheme. 

In  connection  with  the  beautiful  Cathedral  built  principally 
at  his  own  cost  in  Calcutta,  he  was  desirous  of  founding  several 
canonries  —  three  at  least  —  and  of  entrusting  considerable 
missionary  undertakings  to  their  incumbents.  With  charac- 
teristic generosity  and  energy  he  furthered  this  project  with 
contributions  from  his  private  purse.  A  few  years  before  his 
death,  however,  he  made  over  to  the  Church  Missionary  Society 
the  entire  collected  funds  and  everything  thereto  appertaining, 
"as  he  had  become  convinced  that  Indian  missions  could  be 
better  carried  on  by  such  a  missionary  society  working  from 
the  homeland  than  by  mere  independent  effort."  In  several 
of  the  Indian  sees  a  governing  body,  the  so-called  Board 
of  Missions,  under  episcopal  presidency,  has  been  created, 
in  order  to  carry  on  missionary  work  under  the  direct  super- 

^  Cf.    the    illuminating    description    in    Stock's    History    of   the    C.J\I.S.,    lij. 
203-215. 


2  So  HISTORY  OF  LNDIAN  MISSIONS 

intendence  of  the  Bishop ;  this  has  been  the  case  in  the  diocese 
of  Colombo  since  1845,  and  in  that  of  Calcutta  since  1885. 
They  have  at  their  command,  however,  only  a  portion  of  the 
necessary  funds  and  contributions,  by  far  the  larger  part  of  their 
means  being  voted  to  them  by  the  Society  for  the  Propagation 
of  the  Gospel.  For  instance,  the  Calcutta  Diocesan  Board  has 
the  yearly  disposal  of  over  61,000  rupees  ;  of  these,  15,000  are 
collected  in  India,  and  46,000  come  from  England. 

The  two  Anglican  missionary  societies,  the  Church  Mission- 
ary Society  and  the  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel, 
in  conjunction  with  the  intimately  associated  brotherhoods  and 
sisterhoods,  and  the  evangelical  Church  of  England  Zenana 
Missionary  Society,  compose  one  great  group  of  the  missionary 
agencies  working  in  India;  owing  to  incomplete  returns  in  the 
last  Census  (1901),  it  is  impossible  to  ascertain  the  relative  pro- 
portion of  the  missionaries  in  this  group  to  those  of  other 
missionary  societies  at  work  in  India.  Ten  years  earlier  (in 
1890),  of  857  ordained  missionaries  there  were  203,  and  of  711 
female  workers  223,  who  were  members  of  this  group  ;  it  thus 
represented  at  that  time  a  quarter  of  the  entire  European  staff 
on  the  Indian  mission  field.  According  to  the  last  Missionary 
Census  in  1901,  184,274  of  the  808,210  Indian  Christians,  or, 
according  to  the  Government  Census  taken  at  the  same  time,  the 
figures  of  which  on  this  point  are,  however,  probably  unreliable, 
305)917  out  of  825,466  Christians,  belong  to  Anglican  missions. 

Yet  however  influential  these  figures  represent  the  position 
of  Anglicanism  to  be  on  the  Indian  mission  field,  the  Intelligencer, 
the  leading  organ  of  the  Church  Missionary  Society,  is  un- 
doubtedly right  when  it  calmly  answers  the  far  from  modest 
demands  of  the  Anglican  bishops — at  their  Calcutta  Synod  in 
January,  1901, — that  the  "  Church  of  England  "  be  the  "  Church  of 
India,"  by  stating  that  in  view  of  such  figures  there  is  for  the 
present  neither  reason  nor  prospect  for  any  such  assumption. 


2.  Vernacular  Preaching 

Consecutive  reading  in  nineteenth  century  missionary  literature 
shows  that  a  decided  change  of  opinion  concerning  the  relative 
position  and  importance  of  the  main  branches  of  missionary 
labour  has  taken  place.  In  the  first  quarter  of  the  century 
elementary  schools  for  the  heathen  received  special  attention, 
whilst  the  principal  successes  were  awaited  from  the  translation 
and  dissemination  of  the  Bible.  Then  from  about  1825 
vernacular  preaching,  whether  at  bazaars  or  melas,  in  the  towns 
or  the  villages,  became  the  centre  of  interest.     It  was  deemed 


MISSIONARY  ORGANISATION  281 

the  peculiar  task  of  the  missionaries  and  the  crown  of  their 
work.  Later  still  the  idea  became  current  that  the  great 
branches  of  the  work  are  co-ordinate,  and  that  any  dispute  con- 
cerning their  superiority  is,  as  Bishop  Sargent  once  jestingly 
remarked,  like  a  quarrel  amongst  the  five  fingers  for  the  pre- 
eminence. 

Almost  every  missionary  society  can  point  to  missionaries 
who  have  been  exceptionally  gifted  preachers  in  the  vernacular, 
and  who  have  unweariedly  journeyed  up  and  down  the  country, 
scattering  the  good  seed  of  the  Word  of  God,  Three  methods 
of  vernacular  preaching  have  been  developed:  actual  itinerant 
preaching  in  the  thickly  populated  village  districts,  preaching  at 
the  great  melas  or  popular  religious  festivals,  and  preaching  in 
the  bazaars.  In  all  these  branches  there  have  been  many 
missionaries  who  have  laboured  with  great  faithfulness.  Such 
faithfulness  is  truly  wonderful  when  we  see  men  going  out  daily 
single-handed,  and  for  a  long  period  of  years  in  succession,  to 
preach  in  the  bazaars,  perhaps  without  ever  seeing  any  visible 
results  of  their  self-sacrificing  seed-sowing.  Rev.  A.  F.  Lacroix, 
a  Swiss  missionary,  is  reputed  to  have  been  the  greatest  vernacular 
preacher.  He  went  out  to  Chinsurah  in  1821,  under  the  Nether- 
lands Missionary  Society,  and  in  1827  he  passed  into  that  of  the 
London  Missionary  Society,  in  which  he  remained  until  his 
death  on  July  8th,  1859.  He  had  a  command  of  Bengali  such 
as  was  possessed  by  no  other  European.  By  his  attractive 
delivery,  his  sympathetic  expression,  and  the  felicitous  use  of 
really  idiomatic  Bengali,  he  everywhere  drew  together  vast 
crowds  of  listeners,  and  his  convincing  eloquence  and  his  speech 
so  rich  in  Oriental  illustration  charmed  and  fascinated  the 
Hindus. 

Another  great  itinerant  preacher  was  McComby,  a  Baptist 
missionary  who  for  forty-five  years  was  indefatigable  in  the 
prosecution  of  long  preaching  tours,  but  who,  like  Lacroix,  died 
without  leaving  a  single  convert,  each  furnishing  a  striking 
example  of  the  relative  fruitlessness  of  purely  itinerant  preaching. 

In  spite  of  the  recognition  in  principle  of  the  importance  of 
vernacular  preaching,  there  were,  however,  important  factors  at 
work  in  all  the  societies,  the  tendency  of  which  was  to  narrow 
its  scope  or  to  crowd  it  out  of  existence.  The  most  con- 
tinuously operative  of  these  is  of  course  the  Indian  climate, 
which  for  two-thirds  of  the  year,  during  the  hot  and  rainy  seasons, 
hinders  or  altogether  forbids  a  European  undertaking  extensive 
travelling  in  almost  every  part  of  the  country.  And  when 
the  rainy  season  falls  so  unfavourably  as  it  does  in  the  Tamil 
country,  where  it  coincides  with  the  "  cool  "  season  (November  to 
February),  there  remains   no  single  part  of  the  year  which  is 


282  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

suitable  for  such  work,  and  preaching  tours  of  any  length  can 
only  be  undertaken  when,  and  so  long  as,  the  weather  remains 
fairly  favourable.  Throughout  the  greater  part  of  India  the 
"  cool "  season,  or  Indian  winter,  is  the  time  when  itinerant 
preaching  is  engaged  in.  During  the  other  eight  or  nine 
months  the  missionaries  remain  at  home.  This  is  a  serious 
limitation,  and  it  is  only  partly  compensated  for  by  the  fact 
that  when  at  home  the  missionaries  can  preach  daily  in  the 
bazaars.  Far  and  away  the  greater  number  of  them  live  in  large 
towns,  in  the  bazaars  of  which  an  ever  changing  crowd  of 
listeners  is  to  be  found. 

It  lies  in  the  nature  of  things  that  during  the  greater  part 
of  the  year,  when  the  missionaries  are  more  or  less  bound  to 
remain  in  one  place,  they  have  adapted  their  work  to  their 
environment.  First  and  foremost  comes  the  pastoral  care  of 
the  native  Christians.  Then  we  must  take  cognisance  of  a 
feature  peculiar  to  Indian  missions,  the  building  up  in  almost 
every  Church  of  a  somewhat  cumbersome  institutional  organisa- 
tion ;  such  are  the  high  schools  and  elementary  schools,  the  boys' 
and  girls'  boarding  schools,  the  industrial  branches  and  orphan- 
ages, the  printing  establishments  and  book  stores,  the  train- 
ing schools  for  teachers  and  preachers,  and  the  many  agencies 
of  slow  growth  which  demand  the  constant  presence  of  the 
missionaries.  There  are  proportionately  few  missionaries  who 
are  free  from  the  responsibility  of  one  or  more  such  institu- 
tions, to  say  nothing  of  missions  like  that  of  the  Leipzig 
Society  to  the  Tamils  or  Gossner's  K61  Mission,  where  the  duty 
of  adequately  caring  for  the  widely  scattered  native  churches  is 
generally  so  onerous  as  to  demand  the  entire  strength  of  the 
limited  missionary  staff,  and  to  leave  but  few  opportunities  for 
itinerant  preaching.  It  cannot  be  denied  that  these  heavy 
institutional  burdens,  with  their  daily  and  serious  demands 
upon  the  missionaries,  greatly  hinder  the  work  of  vernacular 
preaching — which  amongst  other  things  demands  great  freedom 
of  movement. 

We  shall  assuredly  not  be  in  error  if  we  add  yet  a  third  to 
these  two  notorious  hindrances  to  this  kind  of  work,  namely, 
the  impression  that  exists  of  the  relative  inadequacy  and 
uselessness  of  sporadic  preaching  to  the  heathen.  At  the  melas, 
where  hundreds  of  thousands  of  religiously  excited  people 
gather  together,  this  impression  is  often  brought  home  to  the 
missionaries  with  overwhelming  power  and  greatly  to  their 
discouragement,  and  it  demands  men  of  sturdy  force  of 
character  like  Samuel  Hebich,  of  the  Basle  Society,  to  continue 
to  preach,  with  ever  fresh  courage,  to  the  apparently  boundless 
sea  of  listeners  by  which  on  such  occasions  the  missionaries  are 


MISSIONARY  ORGANISATION  283 

surrounded.  And  there  is  often  practically  the  same  feeling 
when  the  vernacular  preacher  proclaims  the  Word  of  God  in 
villages  where  it  has  perhaps  never  been  preached  before,  and 
where  perhaps  no  messenger  of  the  gospel  will  again  set  foot 
for  another  decade.  Only  gradually  in  the  course  of  the  century 
have  missionaries  come  to  realise  the  extent  to  which  the 
Hindus  live  in  a  wholly  different  world  of  thoughts  and  ideas. 
The  first  proclamation  of  the  gospel  rushes  past  the  spiritual 
ear  of  such  men  unmarked  and  uncomprehended,  and  long 
preparation  and  tillage  of  the  field  of  the  heart  is  necessary 
before  Christian  ideas  can  find  soil  in  which  to  grow.  This  is 
the  reason  why  the  almost  universally  adopted  method  of 
the  middle  of  last  century  has  been  abandoned  of  journeying 
through  entire  provinces  and  travelling  many  hundreds  of 
miles  preaching  the  gospel — as  was  done,  for  instance,  by  such 
a  giant  in  the  faith  as  Rev.  George  W.  Ziemann,  a  Gossner 
missionary  at  Ghazipur,  on  the  Ganges.  With  regard  to 
vernacular  preaching,  the  wisdom  of  the  old  saw  is  abundantly 
apparent :  "  Limitations  reveal  the  master." 

It  is  interesting  to  read  how  once  and  again  the  missionary 
societies  have  made  great  efforts  to  assign  to  vernacular 
preaching  its  right  place,  even  at  the  cost  of  pushing  on  one 
side  the  burden  of  the  various  organisations  connected  with  the 
Church.  In  two  great  societies,  the  English  Baptists  and  the 
American  Congregationalists  (the  A.B.),  an  entire  change  of 
policy  was  effected  after  the  visit  in  1854-185 5  of  their  Foreign 
Secretaries,  Rev.  E.  B.  Underbill,  LL.B.,  of  the  Baptist  Mission- 
ary Society,  and  Drs.  Rufus  Anderson  and  Augustus  Thompson 
of  the  American  Board.  The  English  high  schools  were  partly 
given  up,  the  elementary  school  system  was  reduced  to  as 
narrow  limits  as  possible,  and  all  other  forms  of  organisation 
were  cut  down  in  order  to  leave  the  missionaries  free  for  two 
great  tasks,  the  care  of  the  churches  and  the  preaching  of  the 
Word.  In  the  Basle  Missionary  Society,  too,  each  successive 
visit  of  its  inspecting  Secretaries  resulted  in  closer  attention 
being  paid  to  vernacular  preaching.  In  1 850-1 851  Josenhans 
arranged  that  at  least  two  missionaries — Ammann  for  South 
Kanara  and  Hebich  for  the  entire  Indian  work  of  the  Society — 
should  be  set  apart  for  the  principal  task  of  vernacular  preaching. 
Otto  Schott,  on  the  occasion  of  his  visit  in  1 880-1 881,  would 
greatly  have  liked  to  bring  about  in  the  Basle  Missionary 
Society  a  similarly  radical  change  to  that  accomplished  by 
Underbill  and  Thompson  in  their  respective  societies.  Under 
the  present  "  Inspector,"  Dr.  Theodor  Oehler,  a  model 
system  has  been  introduced  throughout  the  whole  sphere  of 
the  Basle  Society,  by  which  every  station,  in  addition  to  those 


2  84  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

engaged  in  other  branches  of  the  work,  shall  have,  as  far  as 
possible,  one  missionary  whose  sole  charge  is  vernacular 
preaching,  and  who  shall  be  assisted  by  a  body  of  helpers 
specially  trained  for  this  kind  of  work. 

The  English  Church  Missionary  Society  has  worked  along 
other  lines.  In  1854  it  inaugurated  in  North  Tinnevelly  an 
imposing  Itinerant  Preachers'  Mission,  in  connection  with  which 
devoted  men  like  Ragland,  Meadows,  David  Fenn,  and  Gray 
journeyed  hither  and  thither  preaching,  often  at  the  cost  of 
great  self-sacrifice.  In  the  Punjab]  two  highly  gifted  and 
zealous  missionaries.  Maxwell  Gordon  and  R.  Bateman,  the 
so-called  "Fakir"  missionaries,  carried  on  those  extensive 
preaching  tours  often  termed  the  "  Punjab  Itinerancy,"  out  of 
which  have  grown  the  stations  of  Batala,  Narowal,  Bahrwal- 
Atari,  and  Tarn  Taran.  At  this  stage,  however,  a  new  plan 
was  advocated  by  General  Haigh.  Bands  of  associated  evan- 
gelists were  to  be  sent  out,  unmarried  men,  ready  to  face  any 
difficulty,  and  maintaining  one  modest  menage  in  common ; 
they  need  not  have  enjoyed  a  liberal  education,  but  they 
were  to  be  specially  cut  out  for  work  among  the  village 
populations. 

The  first  experiment  was  made  in  1889  with  three  young 
evangelists  in  the  Nadiya  district  of  Bengal,  and  the  result  was 
so  satisfactory  that  similar  bands  of  evangelists  were  quickly 
created  in  Lucknow  (for  Oudh),  in  Calcutta  (for  the  thickly 
populated  villages  in  its  neighbourhood),  and  among  the  Gonds 
of  Central  India.  As  a  general  rule  a  clergyman  is  at  the 
head  of  the  band,  and  he  has  from  two  to  five  earnest  young 
brethren  as  his  assistants.  In  every  case  a  kindly  disposition 
and  excellent  health  are  required  for  this  very  exhausting  work, 
and  many  of  them  are  only  able  to  accomplish  the  first  stipu- 
lated period  of  five  years. 

In  the  last  decade  vernacular  preaching  has  taken  a  new 
lease  of  life  in  nearly  all  the  missionary  societies.  Everywhere 
the  desire  is  making  itself  urgently  felt,  that,  as  work  has  for 
so  long  a  time  been  confined  to  the  large  towns,  the  great 
broad  surface  of  the  land  with  its  ever  crowded  but  more  simple 
and  approachable  population  should  now  be  more  adequately 
ministered  to.  "Village  Missions"  is  nowadays  one  of  the 
most  attractive  of  battle-cries,  and  who  can  wonder  when  ninety 
per  cent,  of  the  Hindus  live  in  villages  ?  Two  auxiliaries  receive 
especial  favour  at  the  hands  of  present-day  vernacular  preachers 
—  limelight  views  as  accompaniments  to  an  evening  lecture 
or  address,  and  "  bhajans,"  or  Christian  hymns,  sung  to  the 
melodies,  and  attired  in  the  poetic  garb,  of  the  songs  of  the 
Hindus    themselves.       Special    merit    in    the    adaptation    of 


MISSIONARY  ORGANISATION  285 

"  bhajans  "  as  helps  in  open-air  preaching  has    been  shown  by 
the  American  Maratha  Mission  (the  A.B.). 


3.  Literary  Work 

In  addition  to  vernacular  preaching,  literary  work  has  been 
coming  to  the  front  to  an  ever  increasing  extent  since  the 
beginning  of  last  century.  Even  the  veterans  of  the  Danish 
Mission  did  not  neglect  this  department  of  missionary  work. 
Ziegenbalg  proved  himself  in  this  respect,  as  in  so  many  others, 
a  truly  great  missionary,  by  undertaking  extensive  literary 
enterprises  in  Tamil  as  well  as  in  German  and  Latin.  In 
Tamil  his  first  love  was  Bible  translation ;  after  that  he  began 
to  compile  those  books  which  were  indispensable  for  the  young 
Christian  communities  :  a  small  hymn-book,  a  Tamil  transla- 
tion of  Luther's  Catechism,  a  summary  of  dogma  {Tlieologia 
tJietica  in  lingua  tamulica,  revised  and  newly  arranged  in  1856 
by  Revs.  Dr.  Graul  and  Cordes),  and  a  few  tracts.  His  most 
important  work  in  German  was  a  Genealogy  of  the  Gods  of 
Malabar,  an  exposition  of  South  Indian  mythology  based  on 
comprehensive  and  reliable  studies ;  unfortunately  this  was  not 
printed  until  1867,  when  it  was  edited  by  Wilhelm  Germann  ; 
then,  however,  it  was  immediately  translated  into  English,  and 
according  to  Benfey,  the  philologist,  it  is  even  to-day  "  a  usable, 
and  indeed  a  useful  work."  Further,  he  compiled  a  BibliotJieca 
Malabarica,  a  critical  consideration  and  index  of  150  Tamil 
books,  or,  as  we  may  term  it,  a  history  of  Tamil  literature  in 
parvo.  Other  missionaries  emulated  the  successes  of  Ziegen- 
balg, at  any  rate  in  the  composition  and  publication  of  works 
in  Tamil  and  other  Indian  tongues.  In  Tamil  especially, 
there  arose  during  the  eighteenth  century  a  not  inconsiderable 
Christian  literature.  At  the  head  of  this  stand  the  brilliant 
translation  of  the  Bible  by  Fabricius,  and  his  magnificently 
successful  adaptations  of  German  hymns,  the  "  heart-melters," 
as  pious  Tamils  named  them.  Then  we  ought  to  mention  a 
Church  History  by  Rev.  Theodor  Walther,  which  went  through 
three  editions  (Madras,  1735,  1739,  1809),  an  exposition  of  the 
Lord's  Prayer  by  Christian  Friedrich  Schwartz  (2nd  edition, 
1770),  and  a  "Conversation,"  also  by  Schwartz.  In  addition 
to  these  works,  there  were  also  published  Latin-Tamil,  Tamil- 
Latin,  English-Tamil,  and  Tamil-English  Dictionaries,  transla- 
tions of  H.  Muller's  Erquickstnnden,  Starcke's  Leidensgeschichtc, 
Bogatsky's  Schatzkdstlein,  Arndt's  Paradiesgdrtlein,  Wahres 
CJu'istentum,  etc.  Especially  was  the  over-zealous  Benjamin 
Schultze  continually  occupied  in  issuing  publications  not  only 


2  86  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

in  Tamil  but  also  in  other  Indian  languages,  such  as  Sanskrit, 
Telugu,  Hindustani,  etc.  The  printing-houses  of  both  the 
Tranquebar  and  Madras  missions  were  never  allowed  to  stand 
idle,  and  even  in  far-away  Halle  Tamil  publications  were 
rapidly  given  from  the  press. 

But  this  literary  activity  of  the  eighteenth  century  was  a 
mere  prelude  to  that  developed  in  the  nineteenth  century.  It  is 
highly  significant  that  at  the  turn  of  the  century  we  find  the  Men 
of  Serampore  with  their  world-wide  horizon  and  their  burning 
desire  to  unlock  all  the  Indian  languages  and  to  translate  the 
Holy  Scriptures  into  them  all.  It  is  unfortunately  impossible 
to  do  anything  like  justice  to  the  extensive  literary  work  of 
Protestant  missions.  Therefore,  just  as  we  took  occasion  in 
our  description  of  the  life  and  work  of  Carey  and  Duff  to 
consider  their  literary  productions,  so  we  shall  find  that  the 
detailed  history  of  the  individual  missions  in  India  will  supply 
us  with  an  opportunity  of  mentioning  their  most  important 
literary  products.  We  must  content  ourselves  here  with  a  few 
general  remarks. 

The  literary  activity  of  evangelical  missions  has  been 
principally  manifested  in  four  directions.  The  first  and  most 
important  of  these  has  been  the  effort — undertaken  with  an 
amazing  measure  of  enthusiasm  and  erudition — to  translate 
the  whole  Bible  into  at  least  all  the  more  important  languages 
of  India.  This  magnificent  and  tremendous  work  we  shall 
discuss  shortly.  A  second  great  and  well-nigh  unlimited  de- 
partment of  literary  activity  has  been  the  exploration  of  India 
from  every  point  of  view  as  a  theatre  of  war,  in  preparation  of 
and  as  a  foundation  for  the  actual  work  of  missions.  This 
department  includes  investigations  of  the  religious  history  of 
Hinduism,  Buddhism,  Islam,  Zoroastrianism,  and  the  divers  sects 
of  India;  also  ethnographical  research  into  castes,  manners  and 
customs,  and  ways  of  thinking  among  the  Indian  peoples  ;  philo- 
logical research  resulting  in  grammars  and  dictionaries  of  all  the 
greater  and  more  cultured  Indian  languages,  and  the  opening 
up  and  the  putting  into  print  of  countless  Indian  dialects,  up 
to  that  time  unwritten  and  wholly  without  literature  of  any 
description.  The  third  great  department  of  literary  effort  has 
been  the  creation  of  a  well-furnished  literary  arsenal  for  use 
in  work  amongst  the  heathen  of  all  peoples  and  castes,  polemic 
writings  against  Hinduism,  Islam,  Buddhism,  Sikhism,  caste, 
Hindu  abuses,  etc.,  and  expository  writings  containing  positive 
statements  of  Christian  truth  and  the  evangelical  conception  of 
life.  Finally,  the  fourth  department — one  second  in  importance 
only  to  the  first  and  the  one  most  largely  cultivated — is  the 
providing  of  healthy  and  satisfying  spiritual    nourishment  for 


MISSIONARY  ORGANISATION  287 

the  native  Christian  community :  hymn-books,  Hturgies,  books 
on  homiletics  for  catechists  and  preachers,  weekly  and  monthly 
magazines,  etc.  In  the  peculiar  circumstances  prevailing  in 
India  one  might  almost  add,  as  a  fifth  widely  diversified  and 
greatly  cultivated  field  of  labour,  the  preparation  of  school- 
books  and  text-books  for  high  and  low,  for  English  as  well  as 
native  boys'  and  girls'  schools,  and,  coupled  with  this,  the  task 
of  providing  healthy  and  suitable  reading  for  the  youth  growing 
up  in  the  schools  of  the  country. 

(a)  Bible  Traiislatioti  ^ 

Although  Romish  missions  had  been  at  work  in  India  fully 
three  hundred  years  before  evangelical  missions,  and  although 
they  had  numbered  within  their  ranks  such  distinguished  lin- 
guists as  Nobili  and  Beschi,  they  did  not  produce  one  single 
translation  of  the  Bible,  only  a  falsification  of  it,  the  notorious 
Esur  Veda.  Faithful  to  their  ecclesiastical  traditions,  these 
Romish  missions  took  no  interest  whatever  in  placing  the 
Bible  in  the  hands  of  the  heathen  in  their  own  language. 
Evangelical  missions  have  had  it  all  the  more  laid  upon  their 
heart  to  make  the  Word  of  God  easily  accessible  to  all  the 
peoples  of  India.  Since  Protestant  missions  are  based  entirely 
on  the  Scriptures,  and  carry  as  their  sole  weapon  the  Word  of 
God,  they  fight  with  open  visor  in  giving  the  Bible  itself  to  the 
natives,  for  they  are  perfectly  convinced  their  cause  will  be 
advanced  thereby.  Hence  the  work  of  translating  the  Bible 
has  from  the  first  occupied  a  distinguished  place  on  the 
programme  of  evangelical  missions.  The  work  accomplished 
is  of  a  very  high  order,  in  fact  it  is  in  many  ways  perfect 
in  its  kind.  The  task  is  a  stupendous  one.  In  India 
147  different  languages  and  dialects  are  spoken  ;  far  and  away 
the  larger  number  of  these  were  not  even  reduced  to  writing,  or 
at  any  rate  were  not  yet  moulded  into  shape  for  the  purposes  of 
literature,  when  the  translation  of  the  Bible  was  commenced 
by  the  missionaries.  In  many  of  them  they  were  compelled 
first  of  all  to  compile  the  most  elementary  auxiliaries,  gram- 
mars and  dictionaries.  It  cannot  therefore  be  marvelled  at  if 
many  of  the  earliest  translations  soon  proved  unsatisfactory, 
and  had  to  be  replaced  partly  by  a  succession  of  revised  versions, 
partly  by  wholly  new  ones.  We  can  divide  the  great  record 
into  two  divisions,  the  period  of  translations  by  individual  lin- 

'  Bibliography ;  MissionswissenschaftUche  Studien,  Warneck  {Festschrift),  pp. 
187-213.  This  is  a  capital  monograph.  Older  and  less  trustworthy  are  the  Allgem. 
Miss.  Zeitschrift,  1891,  pp.  452  et  scq.,  and  1889,  pp.  59-65.  Then  there  are  the 
valuable  tables  in  Dennis'  Centennial  Survey,  p.  133,  etc. 


2  88  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

guists — say  down  to  1850 — and  the  period  of  Revision  Com- 
mittees (since  1850).  We  shall  limit  ourselves  in  what  follows 
to  the  greater  Indian  languages  ;  that  which  has  been  accom- 
plished in  the  less  important  tongues  and  numberless  dialects 
can  be  better  treated  when  we  come  to  speak  in  detail  of  the 
mission  fields  directly  concerned. 

The  first  Indian  language  into  which  the  Bible  was  translated 
was  Tamil.  After  several  premature  attempts  by  the  Dutch  in 
Ceylon,  and  after  the  preparatory  labours  of  Ziegenbalg,  that 
gifted  and  industrious  missionary,  Fabricius,  produced  after 
twenty  years  (1753-1772)  of  toil  that  classical  translation  which 
the  Tamils  have  since  called  "  The  Golden."  To  this  day  it  is 
used  by  the  Leipzig  Missionary  Society,  and  modern  revisions 
(the  last  was  made  in  the  eighties)  have  chiefly  been  directed 
towards  a  restoration  of  the  actual  old  text  of  Fabricius.  From 
the  very  beginning,  however,  English  and  American  missions 
have  not  made  use  of  Fabricius'  version.  A  revised  version  by 
Rhenius  having  proved  both  shallow,  monotonous  and  arbitrary, 
and  a  translation  by  Percival  of  the  Society  for  the  Propagation 
of  the  Gospel  having  been  spoiled  by  too  large  an  element  of 
Sanskrit,  a  wholly  new  translation  was  undertaken  by  Bower, 
also  of  the  S.P.G.  His  production  proving  likewise  open 
to  much  criticism,  a  Committee  of  Revisers,  composed  of  dis- 
tinguished linguists,  worked  once  more  through  the  whole  Bible 
during  the  years  1 857-1 869.  The  result  was  the  so-called 
Madras  Version,  which  is  admitted  to  be  extraordinarily  successful 
by  all  those  competent  to  judge — which  is,  in  fact,  regarded  as  a 
model  translation,  and  is  used  by  all  the  English  and  American 
missionary  societies. 

The  new  missionary  era  started  in  Bengal,  and  it  was  only 
natural  that  the  work  of  Bible  translation  should  first  be 
seriously  grappled  with  in  Bengali.  The  Bengali  language  is 
also  very  important,  because  the  Bengalis  are  one  of  the  most 
intelligent  races  of  India,  and  are  in  many  respects  leaders  of 
thought  to  the  rest  of  the  country.  The  only  materials  Carey 
found  at  his  disposal  were  manuscript  fragments  of  translations 
made  by  a  devout  indigo  planter,  Ellerton,  and  an  Anglican 
chaplain,  Thomas.  He  therefore  made  a  completely  new  and 
original  translation.  The  New  Testament  appeared  as  early  as 
1801,  and  the  Old  Testament  in  1809.  With  tireless  industry  he 
toiled  at  the  correction  and  improvement  of  this  his  favourite 
task  right  up  to  his  death  ;  the  revision  of  the  proofs  of  the 
eighth  edition  of  the  New  Testament  was  his  last  occupation  on 
earth.  In  spite  of  all  this  labour,  however,  Carey's  translation 
has  been  superseded.  After  Haberlin  and  Sandys,  both  of  the 
Church    Missionary  Society,  had  endeavoured  to   again   bring 


MISSIONARY  ORGANISATION  289 

into  public  notice  Ellerton's  work,  the  two  Baptist  linguists,  Drs. 
Yates  and  VVenger,  undertook  a  fresh  translation  (i 833-1 845) 
into  Bengali,  based  upon  the  version  of  Carey.  It  is  their  trans- 
lation which  has  been  taken  as  a  starting-point  for  the  labours 
of  the  great  Revision  Committee  which  since  1875,  under  the 
presidency  of  Dr.  Wenger  and  of  his  learned  colleague  and 
successor,  Dr.  Rouse  (also  a  Baptist),  has  been  seeking  to  produce 
a  version  reliable  and  satisfactory  from  every  point  of  view. 

During  the  first  half  of  the  last  century  too  high  an  estimate 
was  placed  on  the  value  of  a  translation  of  the  Bible  into  the 
sacred  language,  Sanskrit.  This  was  no  doubt  a  consequence 
of  the  brilliant  discoveries  that  were  then  being  made  in  Indo- 
Germanic  philology  and  of  the  enthusiasm  then  awakened  for 
the  newly  unveiled  world  of  Indian  antiquity.  It  was  hoped 
that  such  translations  would  prove  a  means  of  access  to  the 
Brahmans,  who  still  remained  the  leaders  of  the  intellectual  life 
of  India.  Particular  mention  should  be  made  of  Dr.  Carey  in 
this  connection  ;  he  spoke  Sanskrit  fluently  and  was  one  of  the 
first  authorities  of  his  time  upon  it.  He  translated  the  whole  of 
the  Bible  into  this  very  difficult  language  (1808-18 18),  and  his 
successors,  Drs.  Yates  and  Wenger,  have  spared  no  pains  in  their 
attempts  to  improve  and  perfect  his  translation. 

Of  more  importance  were  the  two  widely  spoken  and  closely 
related  languages  of  Hindustan,  Hindi  and  Urdu.  The  old 
Danish  missionary,  Benjamin  Schultze,  had  made  many  transla- 
tions into  Urdu,  and  the  Men  of  Serampore  had  also  occupied 
themselves  with  it.  The  first  complete  translation  into  Urdu 
was  made  by  the  saintly  Henry  Martyn ;  it  was  printed  in 
181 5.  Martyn's  translation  was  afterwards  thoroughly  revised 
by  Dr.  R.  C.  Mathers,  a  gifted  missionary  of  the  London  Mis- 
sionary Society  stationed  at  Mirzapur,  near  Benares.^  On  the 
other  hand,  Revs.  Dr.  Yates  of  Calcutta  (B.M.S.)  and  C.  J. 
Hoernle  of  Meerut  (C.M.S.)  made  independent  and  wholly  new 
translations  which  were  distinguished,  the  first  for  the  wonderful 
linguistic  lore  it  gave  proof  of,  the  second  for  its  exceeding 
truthfulness  to  the  original.  There  were  thus  quite  a  number 
of  preparatory  studies,  and  there  arose  a  pressing  need  for  one 
great  final  translation.  This  difficult  and  important  task  was 
undertaken  (from  1892- 1903)  by  a  committee  of  revisers 
composed  of  the  best  Urdu  scholars,  both  missionaries  and 
others.  It  met  under  the  chairmanship  of  Dr.  Weitbrecht 
(C.M.S.),  and  accomplished  its  design  in  one  hundred  and 
twenty  sittings.     All  the  societies  concerned  have  signified  their 

1  Hence  the  first  edition  (1842)  is  termed  the  Benares  Version,  and  the  second 
(1872),  which  does  not  differ  fiom  the  foregoing  in  any  essential  features,  the  Mirzapur 
Version. 

19 


290  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

readiness  to  lay  aside  their  own  particular  translations  in  favour 
of  this  one,  which  has  been  executed  by  the  joint  labours  of 
representatives  from  each  of  them. 

There  was  almost  as  great  an  abundance  of  translations  into 
Hindi.  The  first  was  the  work  of  Carey,  the  ever-indefatigable 
(1809-18 1 8),  whilst  the  second  had  been  made  by  Bowley,  a 
missionary  of  the  Church  Missionary  Society,  who  based  his 
work  somewhat  on  Henry  Martyn's  Urdu  translation.  The  New 
Testament  in  this  translation  (i  845-1850)  was  so  thoroughly  re- 
vised by  Parsons  and  Holcomb  (both  of  the  Church  Missionary 
Society),  and  the  Old  (1868)  by  Dr.  Joseph  Owen,  that  they 
may  be  almost  regarded  as  new  versions.  Yet  none  of  these 
attempts  satisfied  the  demand  for  a  good  translation  of  the 
Bible.  A  Revision  Committee  has  therefore  taken  this 
matter  in  hand  also,  since  1884;  its  labours  were  brought  to 
a  successful  issue  mainly  owing  to  the  industry  and  zeal  of  Drs. 
Hooper  (Church  Missionary  Society)  and  Kellogg  (American 
Presbyterian).  The  result  has  been  once  more  the  production 
of  a  practically  new  translation,  which  has  met  with  great 
acceptance  at  the  hands  of  all   Hindi  scholars. 

In  Assamese  the  most  important  translation,  after  one  by 
Carey  (18 15-1832)  which  soon  became  obsolete,  is  that  of  the 
two  American  Baptists,  Revs.  Dr.  Brown  and  Gurney.  The 
former  was  responsible  for  the  New  and  the  latter  for  the  Old 
Testament.  They  worked  with  great  industry,  and  the  first 
edition  of  the  complete  Bible  appeared  in  1888.  A  very  much 
improved  edition  edited  by  Gurney  was  published  in  1903. 
The  ground  was  prepared  in  Oriya,  the  language  of  Orissa  and 
the  adjacent  districts,  also  by  Carey  through  his  translation  of 
181 1-1817  ;  this  was  thoroughly  revised  (1838-1844)  by  Messrs. 
Sutton  and  Noyes,  missionaries  of  the  General  and  the  Free 
Will  Baptists  respectively.  It  was  again  thoroughly  revised  by 
the  eminent  linguist.  Dr.  Buckley,  about  1870.  In  the  early 
nineties  a  Committee  of  Revision  was  formed,  Dr.  Buckley 
presiding,  and  the  whole  matter  taken  in  hand,  but  the 
Committee  has  not  yet  concluded  its  task. 

In  Punjabi,  following  on  imperfect  and  early  obsolescent 
translations  by  Carey,  Dr.  Newton,  the  American  pioneer 
missionary,  has  been  responsible  for  the  most  effective  work. 
He  was  permitted  to  labour  for  fifty-six  years  (dating  from 
1835),  and  he  received  help  from  a  number  of  missionaries 
belonging  to  the  Church  Missionary  Society.  Towards  the 
close  of  the  eighties  a  Revision  Committee  was  appointed, 
Dr.  Newton  being  in  the  chair,  and  a  thoroughly  revised 
edition  of  the  New  Testament  has  recently  been  issued  (1906) 
by  them. 


MISSIONARY  ORGANISATION  291 

As  Carey's  translation  of  the  New  Testament  into  Kashmiri 
proved  unserviceable,  two  missionaries,  Messrs.  Wade  and 
Knowles,  have  made  an  entirely  fresh  translation  of  the  New 
(1883)  and  the  Old  (1899)  Testaments.  In  Sindhi  the  New 
Testament  only  is  obtainable ;  it  was  translated  by  three 
members  of  the  Church  Missionary  Society — Messrs.  Burn, 
Isenberg,  and  Shirt — in  1878,  and  thoroughly  revised  in  1896. 
Carey's  translation  of  the  New  Testament  (1820)  into  Gujarati 
was  also  soon  superseded  ;  Messrs.  Skinner  and  Fyvie  of  the 
London  Missionary  Society  undertook  a  new  translation  of  the 
whole  Bible  (18 15-1823).  After  this  had  been  first  revised  in 
1862  by  the  Irish  Presbyterians,  who  took  over  the  work  begun 
by  the  London  Missionary  Society  in  the  region  in  question,  it 
was  again  radically  revised  by  a  Committee  of  Revision  (1890- 
1903)  composed  of  the  best  scholars  in  the  language,  presided 
over  by  the  missionary  Shillidys. 

A  great  deal  of  work  and  perseverance  has  been  expended  on 
the  translation  of  the  Bible  into  Marathi.  Carey,  it  is  true,  had 
been  Professor  of  Marathi  at  Fort  William  College,  but  his  trans- 
lation of  the  Bible  into  this  language  (181 1-1820)  soon  proved 
ill  adapted  for  practical  purposes.  In  1826  the  missionaries  of 
the  American  Board  published  a  new  translation,  and  in  1848 
the  missionaries  of  the  Church  Missionary  Society.  Following 
up  a  cursory  revision  of  the  various  attempts  which  had  been 
made  from  as  early  as  1857,  a  Revision  Committee  assembled 
at  Bombay  in  1894  under  the  direction  of  the  learned  Ur. 
Mackichan,  of  the  Free  Church  of  Scotland.  Since  that  date 
this  Committee  has  been  actively  engaged,  in  almost  daily 
sessions,  in  the  attempt  to  produce  as  perfect  a  Marathi  Bible 
as  possible. 

Especially  difficult  was  the  work  in  Singhalese,  the  language 
of  the  Aryan  immigrants  in  Ceylon.  The  language  of  the  lower 
classes,  of  polite  society,  and  of  literature  are  so  widely  diverse 
that  one  is  almost  led  to  despair  of  any  translation  ever  being 
made  which  shall  be  comprehensible  to  all  classes  and  withal 
faithful  to  the  original.  Efforts  in  this  direction  have  not  been 
lacking.  A  translation  initiated  by  the  Dutch  (i 739-1 776)  and 
revised  by  Fereira  in  1783  is  wholly  obsolete.  In  the  years 
1817-1823  a  translation  of  the  whole  Bible  was  undertaken  by 
Tolfrey,  a  civil  servant,  and  by  Messrs.  Clough,  Armour,  and 
Chater,  missionaries  of  the  Wesleyan  Church  and  Baptist 
Missionary  Societies  respectively.  About  the  same  time  the 
Anglican  missionaries  in  those  parts  published  another  under 
their  own  sole  supervision.  In  1846  a  Revision  Committee  was 
formed  under  the  scholarly  linguist  Gogerly  ;  in  the  main  it 
adopted  the  older  versions  for  the  Old  Testament,  but  produced 


292  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS  i 

a  fresh  and  decidedly  improved  translation  of  the  New  Testa-   I 
ment,  known  as  the  "Gogerly"  or  "Interim"  translation.     In    I 
1886   another   Translation    Committee  was   formed   under  the   ! 
presidency  of  Rev.  S,  Coles  (Church  Missionary  Society),  and    j 
missionaries  and  native  preachers  representing  all  the  societies    j 
at  work  on  the  island  belong  to  it.     Their  labour,  however,  in 
spite  of  all  the  perseverance  and  zeal  they  have  put  into  it,  is 
not  yet  concluded,  and  it  is  very  doubtful  whether  the  result 
will  be  satisfactory  to  all  parties. 

In  the  Malayalam  districts,  on  the  narrow  west-coast  region 
of  India,  it  is  very   unfortunate   that  the   northern   dialect,   in    | 
which  the  Basle  missionaries  carry  on  their  work,  differs  widely    ^ 
from    the    southern    dialect,    which    is    used    by    the    Anglican    | 
missionaries  and  into  the  ecclesiastical  phraseology  of  which    , 
a  considerable  number  of  Syrian  expressions  and  idioms  have 
entered.     The  whole  Bible  was  translated  (i  820-1 842)  into  the 
southern  dialect  by  Benjamin  Bailey  (Church  Missionary  Society) 
and   into  the  northern  (1844- 1868)  by  Gundert  of  the  Basle 
Society.     In  spite  of  the  great  difficulties  of  the  case,  an  attempt 
was  made  as  early  as  187 1  by  a  committee  composed  of  repre- 
sentatives from  both  districts  to  create  one  single  Malayalam  Bible. 
Many  fine  scholars  have  worked  at  it :  pre-eminently  amongst 
the  Englishmen  we  ought  to  mention   Messrs.  Baker,  Maddox, 
and  Richards  ;  belonging  to  the  Basle  Missionary  Society,  Herrn 
Fritz,   Knobloch,  and   Frohnmeyer;   and   amongst  the   Indian 
Christians,  Dr.  Koshi  Koshi,  Messrs.  Chandran,  Rasulam,  and 
many  others.     The  highest  praise  is  due,  however,  to  the  dis-    [ 
tinguished   and   brilliant   Basle   missionary,  Wm.  Dilger.     The    I 
work,  by  reason  of  many  differences  and  disappointments,  has    j 
made  but  slow  progress.     Their  version  of  the  New  Testament    j 
was,  however,  completed  in   1899.  \ 

In    Kanarese   also,   the   language   spoken    in    the   western    ; 
highlands  of  the  Deccan,  there  existed  two  translations,  one    | 
by  Messrs.  Hands  and  Reeve,  of  the  London  Missionary  Society,    ; 
and  the  other  by  two  gifted   Basle  missionaries,  Mogling  and    ; 
Weigle.     At  the  suggestion  of  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible    j 
Society,  supporters  of  both  translations  assembled  in  a  united    I 
Revision    Committee   (1850-1860)  which   issued    an    improved    i 
version  of  the  whole  Bible.     As  even  this,  however,  did  not  give    j 
complete  satisfaction,  a  new  Revision  Committee  was  formed 
in  the  nineties  with  representatives  of  all  the  societies  at  work 
in  Kanara,  under  the  presidency  of  the  Rev.  Henry  Haigh,  a 
very  able  Wesleyan  missionary,  though  one,  it  must  be  admitted, 
of  most   advanced    philological   views.      This    Committee   has    i 
completed  its  revision  of  the   New  Testament  and  is  now  at    , 
work  upon  the  Old  Testament. 


MISSIONARY  ORGANISATION  293 

More  difficult  and  more  complicated  was  the  labour  involved 
in  translating  the  Telugu  Bible.  In  connection  with  the 
earliest  translations  into  this  language,  very  good  work  has 
been  done  by  the  representatives  of  the  London  Missionary 
Society  in  Vizagapatam,  especially  by  Messrs.  Desgranges, 
Pritchett,  and  Gordon,  who  produced  two  practically  complete 
translations  (18 10-1857).  Both,  however,  stood  very  much  in 
need  of  revision,  and  a  long  line  of  experienced  missionary 
linguists  have  rendered  this  service.  Special  mention  should 
here  be  made  of  Drs.  Hay  (L.M.S.)  and  Chamberlain  (American 
Reformed  Church),  and  Messrs.  Lewis  (American  Baptist), 
H.  Schmidt  (General  Council),  Bacon  (L.M.S.),  Cain  and  Alex- 
ander (C.M.S.),  and  others.  Again  and  again  did  revision  com- 
mittees assemble  without  bringing  the  matter  to  a  successful  issue. 
On  the  one  hand,  the  dialects  spoken  in  the  various  districts  of 
this  mission  field  differ  very  widely  ;  on  the  other,  there  are  many 
private  interests  which  come  to  the  fore,  especially  in  Baptist 
missions,  which  are  here  in  the  majority.  In  spite  of  all  the 
earnest  toil  expended  during  the  past  forty  years,  a  universally 
accepted  and  entirely  satisfactory  Telugu  Bible  is  even  to-day 
unfortunately  nothing  but  a  pious  hope. 

An  enormous  amount  of  industry,  learning,  and  culture  has 
been  spent  upon  these  various  translations  of  the  Bible,  which 
are  here  sketched  in  the  barest  outline.  Particularly  during  the 
last  twenty  years  have  missionaries  devoted  themselves  to  the 
strenuous  work  of  revision  in  every  part  of  India.  It  is  to  be 
hoped  that  their  work  will  be  brought  to  a  happy  issue  in  all 
the  greater  tongues  of  India  during  the  present  decade.  In 
connection  with  this  fundamental  work,  and  almost  as  much 
with  regard  to  the  earliest  translations  as  to  the  later  revisions, 
inestimable  services  have  been  rendered  by  the  British  and 
Foreign  Bible  Society.  Thanks  to  its  satisfactory  financial 
position,  it  has  been  enabled  either  itself  to  print  or  has 
rendered  great  assistance  in  the  printing  of  almost  all  the 
translations  we  have  named,  as  well  as  of  those  which  are 
still  incomplete.  And  because  of  its  independent  situation, 
in  that  it  lies  outside  of  all  the  particular  interests  of  the 
societies  at  work  in  the  various  language  zones,  it  has  been 
specially  fitted  to  become  the  representative  of  their  common 
interest  in  the  distribution  of  the  Word  of  Life  to  every  people 
and  tribe  in  as  perfect  a  form  as  possible,  and  to  invite  the  most 
distinguished  linguists  in  each  district  to  united  labour.  It 
borrowed  these  men,  in  some  cases  for  years,  from  their 
respective  missionary  societies,  paid  the  cost  of  their  mainten- 
ance, and  assembled  them  in  places  where  they  would  enjoy 
sufficient  leisure  to  be   able  to  undertake  the   intense    mental 


294  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

strain  involved  by  such  arduous  tasks.  Nine  Indian  auxiliary 
Bible  Societies  assist  it  in  this  work,  most  of  which  can  look 
back  on  long  periods  of  useful  activity.  Going  from  north  to 
south,  the  auxiliary  Bible  Societies  are  as  follows :  that  of 
Calcutta  (founded  in  1811),  of  Allahabad  (the  North  India 
Bible  Society,  founded  1845),  of  Lahore  (for  the  Punjab, 
founded  1863),  of  Bombay  (18 17),  Madras  (181 2),  Bangalore 
(1825),  Jaffna  (1839),  Colombo  (1812),  and  Kandy  (1878),  to 
which  must  be  added  the  Burmese  Bible  and  Tract  Society 
(1861).  At  the  headquarters  of  most  of  these  societies  we 
find  an  imposing  Bible  House  with  extensive  warehouses  filled 
with  Bibles  and  Bible  portions  in  all  the  tongues  spoken  in  the 
district.  The  returns  from  these  Bible  repositories  are  con- 
siderable. In  one  year  (1899)  the  Bible  Society  of  Madras 
disposed  of  10,826  Bibles,  8394  New  Testaments,  and  163,365 
Bible  portions ;  in  the  same  year  the  North  India  Bible 
Society  at  Allahabad  sent  out  3841  Bibles,  7509  New  Testa- 
ments, and  83,403  portions.  Let  us  allow  one  of  the  secretaries. 
Dr.  Weitbrecht  of  Lahore,  to  give  us  a  peep  at  the  extent  of 
his  work.     He  writes  in  the  Intelligence)'  (1902,  p.  595): — 

"  The  Lahore  Bible  and  Religious  Book  Depository,  with 
its  branch  at  Simla,  has  been  the  centre  of  an  ever-growing 
work  which  extends  far  beyond  the  limits  of  the  Province. 
Wherever  Urdu  is  read  or  spoken,  there  our  publications  go — 
to  the  North-West  Provinces,  of  course,  but  also  beyond  them 
to  Calcutta  and  Bombay,  to  Madras  and  Hyderabad,  and  in 
fact  wherever  work  among  Muhammadan  readers  is  being 
carried  on  throughout  India.  Furthermore,  wherever  Indian 
soldiers  and  sailors  go,  where  Indian  labourers  emigrate,  our 
Scriptures,  tracts,  and  books  follow  them— to  Australia  and 
Aden,  to  Hongkong  and  Mombasa,  to  Demerara  and  Liverpool. 
The  circulation  of  the  Punjab  Bible  Society  for  1900  amounted 
to  2339  Bibles,  5618  Testaments,  and  46,636  portions  in  twenty- 
two  languages." 

(b)  Other  Literature 

In  the  year  1893  Rev.  Dr.  Waltroth  attempted  to  draw  up 
a  complete  list  of  all  the  more  important  books  and  publica- 
tions which  had  been  produced  by  missionaries  and  native 
Christians  either  in  or  about  the  languages  of  India.^  This  was 
at  that  time  a  tiresome  but  meritorious  piece  of  work.  To-day, 
only  twelve  years  later,  a  similar  undertaking  would  be  both 
impossible  and  .superfluous  ;  the  mere  titles  of  the  books  which 
have  been  written  by  the  representatives  of  Protestant  missions 

^  Allgemeine  Miss.  Zeitschrift,  vol.  xx.  p.  129  ct  seq.  p.  222  et  seq. 


MISSIONARY  ORGANISATION  295 

in  the  languages  of  India  would  fill  a  thick  volume.  Lists  such 
as  the  above  exist  in  English,  Tamil,  Telugu,  Kanarese, 
Malayalam,  Tulu,  Badaga,  Toda,  Koi,  Bengali,  Oriya,  Assam- 
ese, Mikir,  Ao  Naga,  Angami  Naga,  Tangkhul  Naga,  Garo, 
Manipuri,  Khasia,  Gond,  Santali,  Mundari  and  Oraon,  Malto, 
Nepali,  Lepcha,  Marathi,  and  Urdu.  Further  catalogues  of 
this  kind  are  in  course  of  preparation  in  Hindi,  Gujarati,  and 
other  languages.^  In  the  Descriptive  Catalogue  of  Urdu 
Christian  Literature,  with  a  revietv  of  the  same  and  a 
supplementary  catalogue  of  the  Christian  publicatio7is  ifi  the 
other  languages  of  the  P^injab  (Lahore,  first  edition,  1886; 
second  edition,  1901),  the  title  index  of  Christian  publications 
in  Urdu  alone  occupies  fifty-eight  pages.  We  ought,  however, 
to  state  that  of  all  the  Indian  languages  Urdu  possesses  the 
largest  Christian  literature. 

Besides  the  branch  associations  of  the  British  and  Foreign 
Bible  Society,  there  are  two  great  organisations  in  particular 
which  have  devoted  themselves  to  the  creation  and  dissemina- 
tion of  Christian  literature.  First  and  foremost  is  the  Religious 
Tract  Society  of  London,  which  has  thrown  out  a  network 
of  branches  all  over  India  which  we  shall  again  proceed 
to  enumerate  in  geographical  order,  passing  from  north  to 
south:  The  Calcutta  Tract  and  Book  Society  (1823,  yearly 
turnover  1,091,233  volumes),  the  North  Indian  Tract  and 
Book  Society  at  Allahabad  (1848,  turnover  475,000  volumes), 
the  Religious  Book  Society  in  the  Punjab  (founded,  Lahore, 
1863,  turnover  295,845  volumes),  the  Bombay  Tract  and  Book 
Society  (1827,  about  400,000  volumes),  the  Religious  Tract  and 
Book  Society  of  Madras  (181 8,  1,991,285  volumes),  the  Ban- 
galore Tract  and  Book  Society  (1855,  97,182  volumes),  the 
Gujarat  Tract  Society  (Surat,  1854,  63,750  volumes),  the  Orissa 
Tract  Society  (Cuttack,  1873,  44,000  volumes),  the  Malayalam 
Religious  Tract  Society  (Trichur,  1895,  88,908  volumes),  the 
South  Travancore  Tract  Society  (Nagercoil,  1853,  360,100 
volumes),  the  Jaffna  Tract  Society  (1800),  and  the  Christian 
Literature  and  Religious  Tract  Society  of  Colombo  (i860, 
364,400  volumes).  According  to  the  detailed  statistics  given  in 
the  Report  of  the  Madras  Decennial  Missionary  Conference, 
these  auxiliary  societies  of  the  London  Religious  Tract 
Society,  in  conjunction  with  a  few  kindred  societies  and 
associations,  printed  in  all  during  the  years  1891-1900  some 
fifty-three  and  a  half  million  volumes,  disposing  during  the 
same  time  of  nearly  sixty-two  million  volumes,  for  which  close 
on  two  millions  of  rupees  were  paid. 

^  They   can   all    be   obtained    from    the   Christian    Literature   Society,    Madras 
Royapetta. 


296  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

A  second  great  organisation  of  more  recent  origin  than 
the  foregoing  is  the  group  of  Christian  Literature  Societies. 
Under  the  powerful  impulse  of  the  Mutiny  of  1857,  Christian 
circles  in  England  determined,  under  the  leadership  of  Lord 
Shaftesbury,  to  take  a  noble  "Christian  revenge"  on  India  by 
founding  a  great  society  for  the  promotion  of  education  on 
Christian  lines,  particularly  by  means  of  elementary  schools,  the 
training  of  native  teachers,  and  the  dissemination  of  wholesome 
Christian  literature.  The  Association  sprang  into  life  at  Madras 
and  Bombay  in  1858  under  the  title  of  the  "  Vernacular  Educa- 
tion Society."  During  the  first  decades  of  its  existence  it  laid 
principal  stress  on  the  fostering  of  the  elementary  school,  which 
it  imagined  could  be  developed  on  a  purely  Indian  basis  and 
in  connection  with  the  old  Indian  "  patashalas."  Large  groups 
of  village  schools  were  therefore  created  in  the  low-lying  plains 
of  Bengal,  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Amritsar  in  the  Punjab,  and 
in  the  Madura  province  of  South  India.  As  aids  to  this  work, 
normal  colleges  were  opened  in  Amritsar,  Ahmadnagar,  and 
Dindigul.  Gradually,  however,  the  Association  turned  its 
attention  more  and  more  exclusively  to  literary  work.  Only 
the  Ahmadnagar  Seminary  was  kept  up,  and  it  still  serves 
the  American  Board  as  a  training  institute  for  its  native 
teachers.  In  accordance  with  this  change  of  front,  the  Associa- 
tion adopted  the  name  of  "  Christian  Literature  Society."  As 
such  it  has  founded  a  network  of  branch  societies,  as,  e.g.,  in 
1858  the  Christian  Literature  Society  of  Bombay,  in  1881  that 
of  Ludhiana  in  the  Punjab,  in  1899  that  of  Mysore,  and 
formerly  two  for  the  United  Provinces  and  Bengal.  By  far  the 
largest  of  these  intimately  connected  associations  is  that  of 
Madras,  which  we  may  regard  as  the  parent  society.  It  has  an 
annual  turnover  of  731,149  books  and  tracts,  more  than  three 
times  as  many  as  all  the  other  branch  societies  put  together. 
Down  to  the  year  1900  the  Society  as  a  whole  had  printed 
2380  books  in  eighteen  different  languages,  with  a  total  of 
26,000,000  copies  issued.  Upwards  of  100,000  native  children 
have  received  elementary  education  on  Christian  lines  in  its 
schools,  and  1200  Christian  teachers  have  been  trained  in  its 
normal  colleges.  The  principal  credit  for  this  very  successful 
undertaking  is  due  to  Dr.  John  Murdoch,  the  Secretary  of  the 
Society  from  its  inception  down  to  his  death  (August  lOth,  1904). 
After  Alexander  Duff,  no  other  man  has  done  so  much  for  the 
diffusion  of  Christian  thought  in  India  as  this  plain,  modest, 
indefatigable,  plodding  Scotsman.  Born  in  Glasgow  on 
July  22nd,  1 8 19,  he  went  out  to  Kandy  in  1844  as  headmaster 
of  a  Government  school.  Here  he  soon  interested  himself  in 
the  production  of  Christian  literature,  and  it  was  thanks  to  his 


MISSIONARY  ORGANISATION  297 

instigation  and  enthusiasm  that  a  Religious  Tract  Society  was 
founded  in  Ceylon  in  1847  and  that  the  young  Society  took 
over  the  printing  establishment  previously  belonging  to  the 
Baptists.  In  1855  he  entered  the  service  of  the  United 
Presbyterians  of  Scotland  in  order  to  devote  himself  entirely 
to  literary  work;  and  in  1858  he  gladly  accepted  a  call  to 
Madras,  which  placed  him  at  the  head  of  the  Christian 
Vernacular  Education  Society.  At  its  disposal  he  placed  his 
entire  strength  and  his  many  gifts  for  four  and  a  half  decades. 
Generally  speaking,  he  directed  all  his  efforts  towards  the  pro- 
duction in  English  and  in  the  more  important  Indian  tongues 
of  school  books  recognised  by  the  Government,  and  towards 
intellectual  provision  for  educated  young  people  who  have  learnt 
English  and  thereby  find  themselves  in  a  maze  of  antagonistic 
ideas  and  tendencies,  out  of  which  it  is  difficult  for  them  to  find 
their  way.  On  their  behalf  he  wrote  pamphlets  and  tracts  on 
all  burning  questions  of  the  day  and  on  all  phases  of  the  ever- 
varying  religious  life  of  India.  These  writings  in  many  cases 
exercised  a  highly  enlightening  and  quickening  influence.  More 
and  more  did  the  plainly  furnished  study  of  the  little  man  with 
the  shrivelled-up  face  become  the  centre  of  Christian  literary 
work  for  the  whole  of  India. 

Besides  these  two  great  interdenominational  organisations, 
almost  every  individual  denomination  makes  less  comprehensive 
attempts  to  produce  literature  for  its  own  peculiar  necessities 
and  to  expound  its  own  peculiar  views.  Many  societies — as,  for 
instance,  the  Leipzig  Tamil  Mission — hold  almost  entirely  aloof 
from  the  general  literary  movement  because  they  are  fortunate 
enough  to  possess  an  extensive  and  truly  excellent  literature 
of  their  own.  Church  of  England  missions  owe  much  to 
the  Society  for  Promoting  Christian  Knowledge,  which  of 
course  has  a  strong  leaning  towards  High  Church  principles 
and  has  had  the  Common  Prayer  Book  and  other  specifically 
Anglican  and  devotional  books  translated  into  the  languages  of 
India  and  printed.  Moreover,  the  American  Baptists,  with  their 
flourishing  Telugu  Mission,  have  founded  a  Telugu  Baptist 
Publication  Society  under  the  direction  of  the  gifted  missionary 
linguist  John  McLaurin. 

During  the  first  thirty  years  of  last  century,  so  fresh  and  far- 
reaching  was  the  influence  of  the  Men  of  Serampore,  literary 
work  was  a  main  item  in  the  programme  of  every  mission,  and 
every  large  and  well-equipped  station  possessed  its  own  printing- 
press.  At  that  time,  when  there  were  so  few  printing  establish- 
ments in  India  and  when  communication  with  England  and 
America  was  so  difficult,  it  was  more  necessary  than  it  is  to-day 
that  each  society  should  itself  publish  the  works  written  by  its 


298  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

agents.  Nowadays  there  are  many  printing-  houses  in  India.  It 
is  a  comparatively  easy  matter  to  pubHsh  Indian  books  in  the 
homeland,  and  the  great  literary  auxiliary  societies  are  also 
disposed  to  bring  out  any  literature  serviceable  to  the  cause  of 
missions.  This  being  the  case,  one  might  think  that  the 
missionary  societies  would  either  throw  overboard  altogether 
or  considerably  lessen  the  unwieldy  ballast  of  fully  equipped 
printing  houses,  together  with  all  their  apparatus  for  bookbind- 
ing and  so  on.  But  such  has  by  no  means  been  the  case  ;  on 
the  contrary,  printing  houses  are  to  be  numbered  among  those 
institutions  which  are  rapidly  being  multiplied  in  the  mission 
field,  and  for  two  reasons :  in  the  first  place,  missionaries 
frequently  require  to  print  books  in  languages  and  dialects 
which  as  yet  possess  no  literature  of  their  own  and  which  are 
wholly  unknown  outside  a  limited  area.  In  such  languages 
type-setting  would  be  extremely  difficult  were  it  not  undertaken 
by  men  speaking  the  language  in  question  as  their  mother 
tongue,  and  proof-correcting  would  be  laborious  unless  done 
by  the  missionary  on  the  spot.  This  is  the  case  with  Munda, 
Oraon,  Santali,  Garo,  the  Naga  dialects,  Khassi,  and  many  other 
languages  and  dialects.  Secondly,  it  is  an  urgent  necessity, 
owing  to  the  exclusiveness  of  the  caste  system,  for  the  various 
missions  to  find  work  for  native  Christians  which,  without 
making  too  great  demands  upon  their  strength,  shall  at  the 
same  time  be  congenial  to  them.  And  it  is  just  such  work  as 
this  of  type-setting,  printing,  binding,  etc.,  which  affords  welcome 
employment  for  those  Christians  who  have  been  expelled  from 
their  former  trades.  At  the  present  time  there  are  forty-five 
mission  printing-presses  in  India  besides  two  in  Burma  and 
three  in  Ceylon.^  Many  of  these  are  only  small  affairs  which 
would  only  be  maintained  for  a  time  in  any  case.  But  many 
are  truly  great  undertakings.  For  example,  in  the  year  1900  we 
find  that  there  were  then  published  by : — 

The  Printing  House  of  the — 

American  Presbyterians,  Allahabad 
Methodist  Episcopalians,  Calcutta 

^  Many  of  the  missionary  societies  kept  up  large  printing  establishments  in  former 
times  but  have  withdrawn  from  that  particular  kind  of  work  in  more  recent  days. 
We  have  already  mentioned  the  magnificent  publishing  department  and  printing 
house  of  the  Serampore  Trio.  Extensive  printing  operations  were  also  carried  on 
for  over  forty  years  by  the  American  Board  at  Bombay  (1814-1868),  at  Manepy  in 
the  Jaffna  district  in  North  Ceylon  (1834-1855),  and  at  Madras  (1834-1864),  the  first 
principally  in  Marathi,  the  two  latter  in  Tamil.  All  three  were  at  the  same  time 
large  publishing  houses  and  have  rendered  valuable  service,  particularly  in  the  issue 
of  Bibles.  Since  the  important  visitation  of  all  the  missions  of  the  American  Board 
by  its  Secretary,  Dr.  Rufus  Anderson,  these  printing  establishments  have  been  given 
up.  The  large  Madras  business  was  sold  to  the  Society  for  Promoting  Christian 
Knowledge. 


Vols. 

Pages. 

421,155 

94,052,658 

140,586 

50.603,576 

Vols. 

Pages. 

? 

6,000,000 

.     282,918 

nearly  36,000,000 

.     342,041 

15,750,000 

? 

890,910 

.     421,200 

831,200 

•     466,475 

3,368,396 

MISSIONARY  ORGANISATION  299 

The  Printing  House  of  the — 

Methodist  Episcopalians,  Lucknow 

,,  ,,  Madras 

Basle  Missionary  Society,  Mangalore     . 
American  Board  at  Pasumalai  (Madura) 

,,  ,,  Satara  (Bombay) 

London  ^Missionary  Society  at  Nagercoil 

The  only  i^reat  German  missionary  printing  house  is  that 
of  the  Basle  Missionary  Society  at  Mangalore.  The  Church 
which  lays  the  greatest  stress  on  press  activity  is  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  of  America,  whose  three  printing  establish- 
ments are  equipped  with  real  magnificence  and  are  conducted 
on  truly  model  lines.  Almost  everywhere  printing  has  to 
be  carried  on  in  several  languages  owing  to  the  linguistic 
diversity  of  India.  At  the  Calcutta  printing  house  of  the 
Baptist  Missionary  Society  work  is  done  in  fifteen  different 
languages,  at  the  Madras  branch  of  the  Society  for  Promoting 
Christian  Knowledge  also  in  fifteen,  at  that  of  the  Basle 
Missionary  Society  at  Mangalore  in  eight.  Many  of  these 
printing  establishments  can  look  back  over  a  long  period  of 
usefulness  :  those  of  the  American  Baptists  at  Rangoon  and  the 
Wesleyan  Methodists  at  Colombo  were  founded  in  18 16,  that  of 
the  Baptist  Missionary  Society  at  Calcutta  in  181 8,  that  of 
the  Church  Missionary  Society  at  Cottayam  in  1821,  that  of  the 
London  Missionary  Society  at  Nagercoil  in  1832,  that  of  the 
English  General  Baptists  at  Cuttack  in  1838,  that  of  the  Basle 
Society  at  Mangalore  in  1841,  and  that  of  the  Irish  Presby- 
terians at  Surat  was  taken  over  from  the  London  Missionary 
Society  and  had  been  started  as  early  as  1 816.  A  glance  at 
the  map  will  show  that  these  older  printing  houses  were 
distributed  at  fairly  regular  intervals  over  the  more  important 
missionary  spheres  that  were  then  occupied. 

This  abundance  of  missionary  printing  houses  not  only 
permits  of  India's  need  for  Bibles  and  Bible  portions  being 
almost  entirely  supplied  in  India  itself,  it  also  provides  an 
opportunity  for  extensively  developing  a  periodical  press. 
Misled  by  the  literary  celebrity  of  this  country  of  ancient 
culture  and  civilisation,  a  false  impression  has  perhaps  been 
received  concerning  the  literacy  of  India.  According  to  recent 
investigations,  only  5*3  per  cent,  of  the  total  population  {i.e.  10 
per  cent,  of  the  male  population  and  only  07  per  cent,  of  the 
female)  can  read  and  write.  The  figures  are  something  under  15 
millions  out  of  294/^  millions.  On  the  one  hand,  the  literate 
classes  monopolise  the  intellectual  leadership  and  domination 
of  the  country  to  almost  the  same  extent  and  with  well-nigh  the 
same  exclusiveness  as  the  literati  of  China.  But,  on  the  other 
hand,  the  number  of  readers  is  rapidly  increasing.     Nearly  four 


300  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

and  a  half  million  boys  and  girls  now  attend  school  in  India, 
Further,  it  is  a  well-known  fact  that  for  the  introduction  of  a 
new  world  of  thought,  for  the  effective  presentation  of  a  great 
system  of  intellectual  development,  periodicals  are  better 
adapted  than  single  works,  however  brilliantly  written  the  latter 
may  be.  Missions  have  therefore  been  compelled,  on  the 
principle  of  gutta  cavat  lapidem,  to  lay  stress  upon  the 
exposition  of  the  Christian  conception  of  life,  by  means  of 
regularly  issued  publications,  for  those  Hindus  and  Muham- 
madans  who  can  read.  Moreover,  there  is  a  universal  demand 
for  periodicals  in  connection  with  the  pastoral  work  of  the 
several  missions,  the  intellectual  and  spiritual  training  of  native 
teachers,  the  supervision  of  the  widely  extended  system  of 
Christian  associations,  and  many  other  forms  of  organisation. 
We  have  seen  how  the  Men  of  Serampore  made  a  start  in  this 
direction  and  how  Duff  followed  in  their  steps.  This  periodical 
literature,  like  most  of  the  departments  which  concern  the 
surface  work  of  missions  and  which  are  regarded  purely  as  a 
means  to  an  end,  has  been  subject  to  many  changes.  Down  to 
about  the  year  1850,  missionaries  controlled  almost  entirely  the 
public  press  of  India  and  made  so  strong  an  impression  upon  it 
that  political  papers  in  the  ordinary  sense  of  the  word  did  not 
exist  and  the  centre  of  public  interest  was  focussed  on  the 
discussion  of  religious  questions.  Since  that  time  so  many 
influential  journals  and  magazines  have  been  brought  into 
existence  by  Englishmen  and  natives  alike  that  missionaries 
no  longer  maintain  their  position  of  leadership  in  this  respect. 
Still,  147  of  the  470  periodicals  of  India  are  even  to-day 
missionary  enterprises.  We  do  not  include  in  that  number 
several  magazines  which  are  published  principally  for  mission- 
ary circles ;  such  are  Medical  Missions  in  India  (Ajmer,  since 
1895),  the  Indian  Evangelical  Review  (1873-1902),  and  the 
South  Indian  Harvest  Field  (issued  by  the  Wesleyans  in 
Mysore,  since  1889).  The  rest  may  be  divided  into  two 
great  groups :  those  which  are  chiefly  intended  for  heathen 
readers  and  which  are  designed  to  be  the  vehicles  of  the 
evangelical  message  and  to  leaven  the  heathen  thought-world 
with  Christian  ideas  ;  and  those  which  are  mainly  destined  for 
service  within  the  Christian  Church  and  its  manifold  cor- 
porate life.  Probably  a  quarter  of  all  the  papers  that  are 
published  appear  either  in  English  or  partly  in  English 
and  partly  in  vernacular — a  striking  proof  of  the  import- 
ance of  that  f  per  cent,  of  the  population  who  understand 
English.  By  far  the  larger  number  of  papers  have  only  a 
relatively  small  number  of  readers ;  as  far  as  it  is  possible  to 
find   out,  there   were   in    1900   only  twenty-seven   of  the    147 


MISSIONARY  ORGANISATION  301 

Christian  journals  with  an  edition  of  a  thousand  copies  or  over. 
At  the  head  of  the  list  stands  the  quarterly  organ  of  the 
Sunday  schools  of  India,  Sunday  School  Lessons  and  Helps, 
published  at  Lucknow  with  a  circulation  of  7700  copies. 
Thereafter  we  find  the  four  best-known  and  most  influential 
journals  :  the  Epiphany,  issued  by  the  Oxford  Brotherhood 
in  Calcutta  (circulation  3000),  the  BalshikaJiaks  of  the 
Bombay  Tract  Society  (circulation  3000),  Sattia  Tudan 
("  Messenger  of  Truth,"  issued  by  the  Danish  Mission  at 
Madras,  with  a  circulation  of  3844  copies),  and  the  much-spoken 
of  (both  in  England  and  in  India)  Christian-Kanarese  newspaper, 
Vrittanta  Patrika  or  "  Newsletter,"  published  by  the  Wesleyan 
missionaries  at  Mysore  and  founded  by  that  brilliant  mission- 
ary Rev.  Henry  Haigh.  The  circulation  is  4400.  Very 
influential,  too,  in  South  India  are  the  Christian  Patriot 
(Madras),  the  organ  of  those  South  Indian  Christians  who  are 
striving  after  independence ;  the  Sattiavarthaviani,  the  maga- 
zine of  the  American  Madura  Mission  ;  and  the  Mangalava- 
sanani  of  the  American  Reformed  Arcot  Mission.  Of  the 
papers  published  by  German  societies  the  most  important  is 
the  Satyadipike  of  the  Basle  Mission,  which  appears  six  times 
a  year  at  Mangalore  and  enjoys  a  circulation  of  11 50  copies. 
No  less  than  forty-two  of  the  missionary  periodicals  are  issued 
in  Calcutta — another  evidence  of  the  extent  to  which  the 
education  of  the  Bengalis,  and  particularly  of  the  population 
round  about  Calcutta,  surpasses  that  of  the  remaining  inhabit- 
ants of  India.  Twenty-one  more  are  published  in  Madras  and 
thirteen  in  Bombay. 

Here  we  should  like  to  point  out  two  particular  directions  in 
which  evangelical  missions  have  done  special  service.  Barely  a 
score  of  the  hundred  and  forty-seven  languages  of  India  and 
Burma — ninety-two  of  which  belong  to  the  intricate  Indo- 
Chinese  group  of  languages  and  are  almost  exclusively  spoken 
in  Assam  and  Burma — had  attained  to  the  dignity  of  written 
languages  when,  at  the  beginning  of  last  century,  Protestant 
missions  first  took  the  field.^  Even  these  languages  had  no 
prose  literature  and  only  a  few  of  them  a  poetic  literature,  and 
nearly  all,  save  perhaps  Tamil,  Telugu,  and  Hindi,  were  in  a 
condition  of  the  greatest  literary  destitution.  For  one  ignorant 
of  the  languages  of  India  and  of  their  very  involved  history  it  is 
quite  impossible  to  gain  any  adequate  idea  of  the  services 
rendered  by  missionaries  in  the  renaissance  of  individual  Indian 
tongues ;  we  would  only  call  to  mind  Carey  and  his  work  for 

*  The  principal  ones  were  Sanskrit,  Bengali,  Hindi,  Assamese,  Urdu,  Punjabi, 
Gujarati,  Marathi,  Tamil,  Telugu,  Kanarese,  Malayalam,  to  which  we  may  add 
Singhalese  and  Burmese. 


302  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

Bengali,  the  creation  of  a  modern  literature  in  Hindi,  and 
kindred  performances.  And  to  this  we  must  add  the  number 
of  languages  and  dialects  which  the  missionaries  for  the  first 
time  raised  to  the  dignity  of  written  languages.  It  is  an 
acknowledged  fact  that  work  in  this  direction  has  not  always 
been  guided  by  the  best  judgment.  Especially  was  this  the 
case  with  the  Serampore  Trio,  whose  burning  desire  to  give  the 
Word  of  God  to  all  the  Indian  peoples  in  their  own  tongue  led 
them  to  experiment  with  a  number  of  languages  which  riper 
philological  knowledge  has  rejected  as  dialects  of  secondary 
importance  ;  such  were  Baghelkhandi,  Bhatniri,  Bikaniri,  Haraoti, 
Kumaoni,  Marwari,  Jaipuri,  Kanauji,  Causali,  Falpa,  Dogri, 
Cutchi,  Udaipuri,  and  Ujjaini.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  numerous 
languages  were  first  opened  up  by  missionaries,  notably  Sindhi 
among  the  Aryan  languages.  In  1849  the  American  Mission 
press  at  Bombay  printed  for  the  Government  a  Sindhi-English 
dictionary  and  a  grammar.  Commencing  in  1854,  Dr.  Ernst 
Trumpp,  of  the  Church  Missionary  Society  and  later  Professor 
of  Oriental  Languages  at  Munich  {d.  1885),  made  a  scientific 
study  of  the  Sindhi  tongue  and  published  at  Government 
expense  a  dictionary,  grammar,  anthology,  and  a  book  of 
stories,  all  works  of  real  value.  Pashto  also,  the  language  of 
the  neighbouring  Afghans,  has  been  raised  to  the  status  of  a 
written  language  by  missionaries.  Among  the  Dravidian 
languages  Malayalam  owes  its  renaissance  as  a  modern  written 
language  principally  to  missionaries  of  the  Basle  Society  and 
the  Church  Missionary  Society.  Hermann  Gundert,  a  brilliant 
philologist  of  the  Basle  Missionary  Society,  deserves  special 
mention  in  this  connection.  His  Malayalam-English  dictionary, 
his  grammar,  anthology,  and  other  minor  works,  underlie  all  our 
knowledge  of  that  language.  Other  Basle  missionaries  have 
welded  the  Tulu, spoken  in  South  Kanara,  and  the  Badaga,  spoken 
in  the  Blue  Mountains,  into  literary  shape,  and  rendered  notable 
service  in  the  Toda  and  Kota  dialects.  Of  particular  import- 
ance in  the  scientific  opening  up  of  the  Tamil  language  were 
the  famous  Comparative  Graimnar  of  the  Dravidian  or  S. 
Indian  Family  of  Languages  {y'^^G  \  2nd  edition,  1875),  by  the 
Anglican  bishop,  Caldwell,  and  the  Bibliotheca  tamulica,  by 
Dr.  Graul,  Director  of  the  Leipzig  Missionary  Society  (18  54-1S65, 
in  4  vols.,  the  second  of  which  is  a  Tamil  grammar).  The  minor 
Dravidian  languages  of  Central  India  were  nearly  all  first  made 
use  of  for  literary  purposes  by  missionaries :  thus  Drose  of 
Bhagalpur  set  to  work  in  1850  with  the  Malto  of  the  Paharis  in 
the  Rajmahal  Mountains  ;  Ferdinand  Hahn  cultivated  Kurukh, 
spoken  by  the  Oraons  of  Chota  Nagpur ;  Dawson  (U.F.C.)  the 
intricate    Gond    dialects,   and    Williamson    (C.M.S.)   the    Koi 


MISSIONARY  ORGANISATION  303 

language,  etc.  The  tongues  and  dialects  of  the  Munda 
language  group  have  been  almost  entirely  reduced  to  writing  by- 
missionaries  :  Munda  itself  by  Dr.  Nottrott,  Santali  by  Messrs. 
Skrefsrud  and  Borresen,  and  more  recently  Kurku  (Bihar)  by 
members  of  the  Kurku  and  Central  India  Hill  Tribes  Mission. 
In  similar  wise  the  tongues  and  dialects  of  the  Indo-Chinese 
group,  of  which  only  Burmese  possesses  an  ancient  literature, 
are  gradually  being  reduced  to  writing  and  provided  with 
grammars  and  dictionaries  by  the  labours  of  English  and 
American  missionaries ;  such  are  Khassi,  Garo,  the  Naga 
dialects,  Karen,  Shan,  etc.  A  leading  place  in  this  work  has 
been  taken  by  missionaries  of  the  American  Baptist  Society. 
Also  in  the  language  of  the  Central  Nicobarese  the  sole  book  in 
existence  is  the  translation  of  the  four  Gospels  made  by  the 
Herrnhut  Brethren  (i  768-1 788). 

Just  as  the  demands  of  their  everyday  work  have  forced  the 
missionaries  to  adapt  one  language  after  another  to  literary 
purposes  and  to  prepare  the  way  for  their  colleagues  and 
successors  by  the  compilation  of  grammars,  readers,  and  diction- 
aries, so  in  exactly  similar  fashion  has  a  deeper  realisation  of 
missionary  duty  led  missionaries  and  their  supporters  to  a 
thorough  and  scientific  study  of  the  Indian  people,  their  castes 
and  their  religions.  For  intimate  knowledge  of  Indian  life  and 
manners,  the  sole  authority  for  half  a  century  was  the  great 
work  by  Wm.  Ward  of  Serampore,  A  View  of  the  Histoiy, 
Literature,  and  Mythology  of  the  Hindoos,  etc.  (2  vols.  2nd 
edition,  181 8).  The  two  best  compilations  on  caste  are 
Hindu  Castes  and  Tribes  as  represented  in  Benares  (London, 
1872),  by  Rev.  M.  A.  Sherring,  M.A.,  of  the  London  Missionary 
Society  ;  and  the  work  of  Dr.  Wilson  of  Bombay)  Free  Church 
of  Scotland),  which,  after  arriving  at  its  second  volume,  was 
unfortunately  left  uncompleted.  Scientific  presentation  of  the 
Hindu  religion  in  comparison  with  Christianity  was  for  a  long 
time  a  most  distinct  want,  and  it  was  by  no  means  atoned  for 
by  the  comprehensive  literature  of  controversial  tracts  that 
gradually  came  into  existence.  For  a  long  time  the  best 
works  of  reference  were  James  Vaughan's  Trident,  Crescent,  and 
Cross,  a  View  of  the  Religious  Histoiy  of  India  (London,  1 876 ; 
Vaughan  was  a  Church  Missionary  Society's  missionary  in 
Calcutta),  and  the  work  of  Pundit  Nehemiah  Goreh  entitled 
A  Rational  Refutation  of  the  Hindu  Philosophical  Systems, 
which  was  written  in  Hindi  but  translated  into  English  by  F.  E. 
Hall  (Calcutta,  1862);  the  title  of  the  Hindi  work  is  Shadharsh- 
ana  Darpana.  In  this  connection  the  Missionary  Conference  of 
Saxony  has  rendered  good  service  by  a  prize  scheme  drawn  up 
in   1898  for  "A  description  of  the  religious   and  philosophical 


304  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

conceptions  of  the  Hindus  .  .  .  and  a  criticism  of  the  same  from 
the  Christian  standpoint."  Eight  competitors  submitted  essays 
upon  this  difficult  theme,  and  the  prize  was  awarded  for  the 
briUiant  book  of  Wilhelm  Dilger  (Basle  Missionary  Society), 
Die  Eridsung  des  Menschen  nach  Hinduis7mis  und  Christentum 
(Basle,  1902).  Highly  commended  were  the  treatises  of  P. 
Kreyher,  Die  Weisheit  der  Bralimanen  und  das  Ch-istentum 
(Giitersloh,  1901),  and  Julius  Happel,  Die  religibsen  wid philoso- 
phischen  Gi-undansc/iauu?tgen  der  Inder  {G\Qss&r\,  1901).  Another 
of  the  theses  afterwards  published  was  that  of  the  Rev,  T.  E. 
Slater  (London  Missionary  Society),  The  HigJier  Hinduism  in 
Relation  to  Christianity  (London,  1902);  this  work  found  many 
grateful  readers  in  English  missionary  circles.  Thus  did  the 
prize  scheme  of  Saxony  materially  assist  one  of  the  most  diffi- 
cult tasks  connected  with  the  Indian  missionary  literature.  A 
thorough  study  of  Zoroastrianism  was  made  by  Dr.  John  Wilson 
Bombay  in  his  valuable  book  The  Parsi  religion  .  .  .  un/olded, 
refuted,  and  contrasted  with  Christianity  (1840).  Concerning 
Muhammadanism  there  has  existed  for  a  long  time  a  consider- 
able polemic  literature  in  Urdu,  of  which  Pfander's  Mizan  at 
haqq  (Roads  to  the  Truth),  Miftah  al  Asrar  (Key  of  the  Secrets), 
and  Tariq  al  hayyat  (the  Way  of  Life)  are  particularly  note- 
worthy, the  first  especially  having  been  translated  into  many 
different  languages.  To  provide  missionaries  with  weapons  in 
their  difficult  spiritual  warfare  with  Islam,  Sir  Wm.  Muir,  the 
learned  and  pious  ruler  of  the  North- Western  Provinces  and  later 
Principal  of  Edinburgh  University,  wrote  a  Life  of  Mahomet 
in  four  volumes.  In  more  recent  times  a  number  of  the  Church 
Missionary  Society's  agents  have  distinguished  themselves  in 
this  connection  ;  thus  Canon  Sell,  Missionary  Secretary  of  the 
Society  at  Madras,  wrote  The  Faith  of  Islajn  (ist  edition,  1880; 
2nd,  1896)  and  Essays  on  Islam  (1901),  the  latter  being  a  collec- 
tion of  essays  on  the  history  and  teaching  of  Islam.  The 
writings  of  Rev.  St.  Clair  Tisdall,  Church  Missionary  Society's 
missionary  in  Persia,  are  also  much  read  and  widely  circulated 
in  India. 

It  may  be  thought,  after  reading  the  foregoing  account,  that 
the  literary  side  of  Indian  missionary  work  is  one  that  is 
particularly  well  equipped  and  effective,  and  that  the  coming 
generation  will  find  very  little  left  for  them  to  do  in  this 
department.  This  would  be  unfortunately  a  completely  false 
idea.  Perhaps  we  may  be  allowed  to  quote  a  resume  of  this 
subject  which  was  laid  ^  before  the  secretaries  of  the  great 
English  Missionary  Societies  in  1895  ^y  the  Rev.  E.  P.  Rice 
of  the  London    Missionary    Society :   "  Christian    literature   in 

^  Lovett,  History  of  the  London  Missionary  Society,  vol.  ii.  p.  291  et  seq. 


MISSIONARY  ORGANISATION  305 

India  is  inadequate,  both  as  to  quantity  and  quality.  An 
erroneous  idea  is  prevalent  as  to  the  amount  and  value  of 
the  Christian  literature  already  existing  in  India.  Much  of 
the  Hterary  work  done  by  missionaries  consists  of  grammars, 
dictionaries,  and  similar  works  which,  though  invaluable  aids  to 
the  missionary,  are  no  part  of  vernacular  literature.  Another 
portion  consists  of  school  books  of  a  purely  secular  character, 
which  might  have  been  prepared  as  well  by  non-Christians  as 
by  Christians,  and  which  are  indeed  being  now  very  largely 
replaced  by  Government  and  Hindu  publications.  These  must 
all  be  eliminated.  Then  again,  of  the  literature  now  being 
produced  by  the  Christian  pubhshing  societies  of  India,  the 
great  bulk  is  in  the  English  language.  This  no  doubt  is  of 
great  value,  as  it  reaches  many  of  the  most  influential  classes ; 
but  still  it  can  only  touch  a  minute  percentage  of  the  whole 
population  of  India ;  it  leaves  untouched  the  masses  of  the 
people  who  for  many  a  long  day  yet  must  be  dependent  upon 
the  vernacular  for  instruction.  Setting  aside  all  these,  the 
amount  and  effective  value  of  the  vernacular  Christian  literature, 
properly  so-called,  is  extremely  scanty.  It  consists  largely  of 
tiny  tractlets  which  sell  for  a  farthing  or  less  each.  These 
may  be  classified  as  good,  bad,  and  indifferent.  In  any  case 
they  cannot  in  such  small  compass  deal  thoroughly  with  the 
questions  which  they  touch.  Moreover,  of  those  tracts  which 
are  most  satisfactorily  done,  a  large  proportion  are  negative 
and  iconoclastic  in  character,  pointing  out  the  imperfection  of 
Hindu  doctrine  and  practice — a  comparatively  easy  task.^  On 
the  side  of  positive  instruction  and  the  exposition  and  enforce- 
ment of  Christian  ideals  we  are  very  poorly  off. 

"  Of  the  larger  works,  the  majority  and  the  best  appeal 
solely  to  native  Christian  readers,  and  do  not  in  the  slightest 
degree  touch  the  non-Christian  community.  Moreover,  many 
of  these  are  translations,  and  no  translation,  however  excellent, 
is  capable  of  affecting  deeply  a  Hindu  mind  or  touching  and 
stirring  a  Hindu  heart.  Even  the  Pilgrinis  Progress,  which  is 
one  of  the  most  suitable  books  for  translation,  and  of  which  we 
possess  excellent  versions,  moves  in  an  atmosphere  of  thought 
so  thoroughly  foreign  and  so  thoroughly  Christian,  that  it  does 
not  commend  itself  to  a  Hindu  until  he  has  entered  the 
Christian  Church.  Passing  from  the  amount  of  available 
literature  to  its  effective  value,  the  result  of  impartial  inquiry 
is  even  less  satisfactory." 

^  During  the  first  half  of  the  nineteenth  century  missionaries  displayed  great 
learning  and  dialectic  skill  in  mercilessly  laying  bare  the  gaps  and  contradictions 
that  existed  in  Hinduism  and  Hindu  mythology — not  always  in  the  mild  spirit 
of  Paul's  sermon  as  recorded  in  Acts  xvii.  This  particular  kind  of  literature  practi- 
cally left  no  pregnable  points  unattacked,  and  is  therefore  relatively  complete. 
20 


3o6  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

The  Rev.  Henry  Haigh,  Wesleyan  missionary  in  Mysore, 
labours  precisely  the  same  point  when  he  writes :  "  Such  ver- 
nacular literature  as  we  have  for  our  Christian  Churches  is 
simply  English  literature — done  more  or  less  idiomatically  into 
the  vernacular,  and  always  with  much  loss  of  meaning  and 
suggestiveness.  In  form  and  spirit,  in  everything  but  words, 
it  is  English.  And  this  is  what  our  people  have  to  feed  upon. 
Those  who  are  baptized  as  children,  and  have  a  long  training 
in  our  schools,  gain  some  conception  of  the  meaning  of  our 
books.  That  is,  they  are  really  receiving  an  English  training 
through  the  medium  of  the  vernacular.  But  they  are  by  that 
very  means  made  strangers  and  foreigners  to  their  Hindu 
brethren.  There  are  no  points  of  approach  between  them.  .  ,  . 
The  Christian  Church  of  India  is  in  great  danger  of  having  a 
language  of  its  own.  We  may  call  it  the  language  of  Canaan 
if  we  please,  but  it  is  only  English  metamorphosed  and  sadly 
attenuated  in  the  process.  .  .  .  This  is  a  real  danger,  as  those 
can  testify  who  have  watched  the  methods  and  listened  to 
the  discoveries  of  many  of  our  native  brethren.  After  long 
experience,  I  am  bound  to  say  that  those  discourses  are 
generally  almost  as  foreign  as  anything  an  Englishman  with 
only  ordinary  powers  of  adaptation  would  inevitably  deliver." 

That  is  keen  criticism  ;  but  it  comes  from  so  authoritative 
a  quarter  that  there  must  be  some  truth  in  it.  Similar  impres- 
sions and  experiences  have  been  laid  before  the  last  two  great 
Missionary  Conferences  at  Madras  (1900  and  1902),  and  have 
caused  them  to  devote  more  extensive,  and  above  all,  more 
systematic  attention  to  the  promotion  of  literary  work  in  the 
service  of  missions.  The  whole  of  India  has  been  divided  into 
nineteen  language  spheres,  and  in  each  of  these  a  language 
committee  has  been  appointed,  whose  duties  are  carefully  to 
examine  the  literature  already  existing  in  the  various  languages 
spoken  within  that  sphere,  to  collect  that  which  is  good,  and 
to  arrange  for  the  production  of  healthy  and  appropriate 
literature  in  larger  quantities.  The  custom  recently  adopted 
by  several  societies  of  dedicating  competent  men  of  literary 
gifts  exclusively  to  literary  labours — a  step  emphatically  re- 
commended by  the  Bombay  Missionary  Conference  in  1892, 
and  still  more  by  that  at  Madras  in  1902 — all  tends  in  the 
same  direction.  Thus  the  American  Baptists  have  set  apart 
Dr.  McLaurin  exclusively  for  literary  work  in  Telugu ;  the 
English  Baptists,  Rev.  Dr.  Rouse  for  Bengali ;  the  Wesleyans, 
Rev.  E.  W.  Thompson  for  Kanarese  ;  and  the  Church  Missionary 
Society,  Dr.  H.  U.  Weitbrecht  for  Urdu. 


MISSIONARY  ORGANISATION  307 


4.  The  Mission  School 

In  connection  with  the  life-work  of  the  Scotsman,  Alexander 
Duff,  we  have  traced  the  developnnent  of  the  Anglo-Indian 
educational  policy  down  to  the  year  1854.  The  Educational 
Dispatch  of  Sir  Chas.  Wood  in  that  year  was  the  foundation 
and  point  de  depart  for  a  Government  educational  system  on 
a  large  scale.  Two  great  tasks  w^ere  before  the  Government, 
to  erect  elementary  schools  all  over  the  land  for  the  illiterate 
childhood  of  India,  which  was  to  be  numbered  by  millions, 
and  to  bring  the  High  School  system  already  in  existence 
under  its  own  control,  to  give  it  uniformity,  and  systematically 
to  develop  it.  During  the  first  period  (i 854-1 882),  the  Govern- 
ment concentrated  its  undivided  attention  upon  the  High 
School  system.  By  means  of  handsome  grants  it  succeeded 
in  a  comparatively  short  space  of  time  in  forming  into  one 
system  all  the  Middle  and  High  Schools  above  the  lower 
secondary  schools  (cf.  p.  181).  And  as  it  made  admission  to 
the  eagerly  desired  posts  in  Government  service  depend  on 
the  examinations  which  were  now  instituted,  it  soon  became 
an  impossibility  for  any  High  School  to  exist  which  did  not 
prepare  pupils  for  these  examinations.  In  one  point  the 
Government  went  beyond  the  intention  of  the  fundamental 
law  of  1854.  The  original  idea  had  been  that  the  Government 
should  only  take  part  in  the  higher  education  of  the  country 
by  assuming  complete  oversight  and  control ;  only  in  the  most 
exceptional  cases  was  it  to  found  its  own  schools.  The  Govern- 
ment, however,  soon  struck  out  a  new  path.  To  improve  the 
school  system,  it  erected  everywhere  model  schools,  which 
were  to  serve  as  patterns,  both  in  management  and  in  results, 
to  the  other  schools  of  the  locality.  In  districts  where  schools 
were  slow  to  link  themselves  on  to  the  general  system,  Govern- 
ment schools  were  built,  and  the  tardy  were  thereby  compelled 
to  submit.  In  minor  details  the  school  system  in  each  great 
province  was  distinct  and  peculiar ;  each  Presidency  had  its 
own  ideas  and  ideals.  Room  does  not  allow  of  our  enlarging 
upon  these  points  of  difference.  But  on  the  whole  it  is  un- 
deniable that  a  great  change  for  the  better  was  instituted 
throughout  the  educational  world  of  India.  School  attendance 
became  more  regular,  higher  qualifications  were  demanded  of  the 
teachers,  the  performances  of  the  scholars  showed  much  greater 
regularity  and  solidity.  Also  the  number  of  schools  rapidly 
increased,  and  the  great  Government  grants,  which  covered 
from  one-third  to  one-half  of  the  entire  costs  of  equipment 
and  upkeep,  emboldened  small  townships,  companies,  and  even 


3o8  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

private  persons,  to  open  new  schools.  Moreover,  there  were  now 
fixed  standards  of  work  throughout  the  whole  country  by  which 
school  results  of  every  kind  could  be  appraised  with  certainty. 

We  cannot,  however,  pass  over  the  fact  that  there  were  great 
disadvantages  bound  up  with  the  new  school  system.  Whereas 
in  the  first  few  years  the  Government  preferred  to  appoint 
missionaries  as  inspectors  of  schools,  yet  later  on,  and  especially 
after  the  great  Mutiny  of  1857,  it  turned  its  back  almost  entirely 
upon  them,  no  doubt  out  of  exaggerated  religious  neutrality, 
and  chose  with  predilection  Englishmen  indifferent  to  religion 
or  non-Christian  Brahmans  for  these  positions.  As  the  yearly 
grants — the  hinge  on  which  the  new  system  turned — depended 
on  the  result  of  the  annual  visitations  and  examinations 
conducted  by  these  gentlemen,  it  came  about  that  mission 
schools,  for  instance,  were  often  in  a  state  of  very  undesirable 
dependence  on  the  goodwill  or  the  good  temper  of  officials  who 
were  antagonistic  to  missions.  How  much  caprice  and  party 
spirit  it  was  possible  to  exercise  in  the  conducting  of  examina- 
tions, the  inspection  of  school  buildings,  and  the  criticism  of 
the  school  staff!  How  much  vexation  and  worry  were  thereby 
set  in  motion  !  Since  the  examinations  were  the  most  important 
thing  of  all  to  the  authorities,  for  through  them  alone  they  kept 
their  hold  upon  the  school,  and  since  they  were  also  most 
important  of  all  to  the  scholars, — for  they  were  the  gates  of 
entry  to  every  position  under  the  Government, — it  came  about 
that  undue  weight  was  attached  to  preparation  for  them. 
Teaching  w^as  more  and  more  in  danger  of  becoming  a  mere 
barren  examination  drill,  and  the  more  so  when,  for  instance,  in 
the  Madras  Presidency  a  fresh  Government  examination  had  to 
be  taken  on  an  average  every  second  school-year.  English 
schools  are  naturally  disposed  to  lay  too  much  emphasis  on  "  text- 
books," but  in  India  at  this  time  they  became  a  perfect  plague  ! 
With  their  phenomenal  memories  the  Hindus  would  learn 
entire  text-books  by  heart  for  their  examinations,  without  taking 
the  slightest  pains  to  understand  them  or  mentally  to  assimilate 
them.  And  it  was  also  a  direct  consequence  of  the  uniformity 
aimed  at  by  the  Government — a  consequence  that  also  worked 
remarkably  for  the  convenience  of  the  inspectors ! — that  the 
text-books  recommended  by  those  in  authority  were  introduced 
practically  everywhere ;  these  text-books  were  for  the  most  part 
neutral  as  to  religion  even,  if  not  directly  antagonistic  to 
Christianity,  and  their  introduction  simply  meant  that  the  books 
compiled  at  great  pains  by  the  missionaries  were  crowded  out  of 
existence.  The  net  result  was  a  tremendous  increase  in  the 
number  of  scholars  and  in  good  examination  results,  but  on 
the  other  hand  an  almost  complete  lack  of  independent  mental 


MISSIONARY  ORGANISATION  309 

effort,  a  superficial  self-satisfied  arrogant  head  knowledge 
without  real  education — a  state  of  things  of  which  a  Bengal 
Babu  was  the  perfect  type. 

These  abuses  caused  the  Government,  during  the  viceroy- 
alty  of  Lord  Ripon,  to  appoint  a  Commission  in  the  year 
1882  to  ascertain  what  progress  had  been  made  and  what 
results  obtained  from  the  Indian  school  system.  A  most 
experienced  Anglo-Indian,  Sir  William  Hunter,  presided  over 
the  Commission,  which  consisted  of  twenty  members,  of  whom 
three  were  missionaries — Dr.  Miller,  of  the  Free  Church  of 
Scotland,  and  Principal  of  the  great  Christian  College  at 
Madras,  Rev.  W.  B.  Blackett  of  the  Church  Missionary  Society, 
and  a  Roman  Catholic  missionary.  Its  proceedings  and 
report  were  published  in  nine  folio  volumes  in  the  year  1884. 
The  main  result  was  a  change  of  front  in  the  educational  policy 
of  the  Government ;  it  now  turned  its  attention  to  the  second 
great  task,  hitherto  neglected,  the  fostering  and  development  of 
the  Elementary  school  system.  Native  and  missionary  elemen- 
tary schools  were  to  be  recognised  and  assisted  more  than  ever 
before.  The  education  of  girls,  which  had  previously  been 
almost  wholly  neglected,  was  brought  into  the  foreground. 
Special  attention  was  to  be  given  to  the  lower  classes  and 
races,  to  whom  the  new  school  system  meant  most.  (It  was 
the  hill-folk  and  the  outcasts  with  whom  the  missionaries 
mainly  had  to  do.)  The  ruling  idea  was  to  develop  the 
teaching  already  carried  on  by  the  State  into  a  truly  national 
system  of  education  for  all  India.  Such  are  the  characteristics 
of  the  second  period,  1882-1902. 

There  had  always  existed  elementary  schools  in  India. 
They  were  of  three  types.  First  we  have  the  "  Patashalas," 
which  are  principally  to  be  found  in  Bengal  and  in  some  parts 
of  the  Presidency  of  Madras  {e.g.  in  the  Tanjore  District) ;  they 
are  intended  for  the  boys  of  those  castes  who  are  compelled  by 
their  profession  to  acquire  a  knowledge  of  reading  and  writing — 
the  Brahman,  merchant,  and  writer  castes.  Their  teaching  is 
generally  confined  to  reading,  writing,  and  arithmetic.  Another 
great  group  of  native  elementary  schools  are  the  "  Koran  Purana," 
or  "  Learning  by  Heart  "  schools,  which  are  chiefly  in  the  Punjab, 
but  are  also  found  in  several  other  parts  of  India,  in  Bengal  and 
Malabar  for  instance ;  in  these  the  principal  task  is  the  giving 
out  of  sections  of  the  Arabic  Koran  (for  Muhammadans)  or  from 
the  Puranas  (for  Hindus)  to  be  learnt  by  heart,  and  apart  from 
this  they  do  practically  no  teaching ;  they  number  well-nigh  as 
many  girls  as  boys  amongst  their  scholars.  According  to  the 
Government  Census  of  189 1,  there  were  154,500  scholars  attending 
the  "Koran  Purana"  schools  and  about  809,000  the  Patashalas. 


3IO  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

A  third  great  section  of  native  schools  are  the  monastery  schools 
of  Burma.  Every  young  Burman  is  compelled  to  pass  a  number 
of  years  at  school  as  a  kyaungtha  (disciple)  with  the  monks 
(pongyi)  in  the  nearest  monastery ;  these  schools  have  been  so 
successful  that  37  per  cent,  of  the  male  population  can  both  read 
and  write,  i.e.  about  as  many  as  in  Italy,  which  has  37  per  cent.,  or 
Hungary,  which  has  40  per  cent.  Besides  these.  Mission  Schools 
have  been  founded  in  connection  with  every  mission  station  in 
India  ;  in  1881  there  were  3020  such  schools,  with  84,760  scholars. 
It  will  be  seen,  therefore,  that  something  had  already  been  done 
in  respect  of  elementary  education,  but  what  was  this  at  the  best 
in  comparison  with  the  tremendous  number  of  children  fast 
growing  up  in  the  length  and  breadth  of  India? 

In  different  parts  of  the  country  different  steps  were  taken 
by  the  Government  as  they  sought  to  establish  a  national 
school  system.  In  the  Bombay  Presidency  the  native  schools 
were  set  on  one  side,  and  a  vast  educational  system  created 
and  staffed  at  Government  expense ;  the  consequence  was 
that  any  existing  native  schools  were  completely  absorbed. 
On  the  other  hand,  in  the  Madras  Presidency  only  thirty  of  the 
24,327  elementary  schools  are  maintained  by  the  educational 
authorities,  and  this  important  branch  of  work  is  left  almost 
exclusively  in  the  hands  of  communities,  missionary  societies, 
and  private  individuals.  In  Bengal,  the  Punjab,  and  some 
other  Provinces,  the  Government  endeavoured  to  co-operate 
with  the  native  schools  already  in  existence,  however  faulty 
those  latter  might  be,  to  bring  them  under  its  own  influence  and 
to  develop  them  as  a  whole — an  aim  it  has  since  accomplished. 
This  is  not  the  place  to  discuss  the  pros  and  cons  of  the  various 
methods  adopted.  We  shall  only  adduce  figures  to  demonstrate 
the  growth  and  extent  of  education  in  India  at  the  present  day. 
In  1 88 1  there  were  ten  and  a  half  million  males  and  432,500 
females  who  could  read  and  write.  In  1891  the  number  had 
increased  to  13,400,000  males  and  590,000  females.  Of  this 
latter  number,  11,300,000  males  and  476,000  females  were  over 
fifteen  years  of  age.  For  1901  the  corresponding  numbers  of 
"  educated  "  persons  of  over  fifteen  years  of  age  are  twelve  and  a 
half  million  males  and  three  quarters  of  a  million  females,  and 
according  to  the  statistics  of  the  educational  authorities  there 
are  2,129,000  scholars  under  fifteen  years  of  age.  In  1877  there 
were  only  66,202  schools  with  1,877,942  scholars;  in  1891, 
137,944  schools  with  3,677,912,  or  according  to  another  census 
with  3,368,930  scholars;  in  1901,  however,  there  were  147,086 
schools  and  4,405,042  scholars.^     For  the  maintenance  of  this 

1  Whilst  recognising  all  that  has  been  done  in  this  direction,  let  us  not,  however, 
forget  the  other  side  of  the  picture.     Even  to-day  the  greater  part  of  the  youth  of 


MISSIONARY  ORGANISATION 


311 


enormous  educational  work,  4,700,000  rupees  were  paid  out  by 
the  Government  in  1891,  whilst  in  1901  5,900,000  rupees  were 
paid.  The  entire  cost  of  the  work  was  estimated,  for  1891  at 
9,125,000  rupees,  and  in  1901  at  11,500,000  rupees.  Thus  the 
Government  pays  out  of  its  own  pocket  almost  one  half  of  the 
entire  sum,  for  the  most  part  in  the  shape  of  "  Grants  in  Aid." 

In  the  year  1901  another  great  Commission  on  Education 
sat,  and  subjected  the  whole  Indian  university  system  to  a 
thorough  investigation.  The  most  important  of  its  findings 
were  embodied  in  the  Universities  Bill  of  March  21st,  1903,  which 
passed  into  law  in  1904.  The  root  idea  of  this  measure  is  to 
map  out  the  academic  training  of  the  youth  of  India  on  a 
more  thorough  and  systematic  basis.  The  standard  of  the 
various  examinations  is  therefore  raised  even  at  the  risk  of 
lessening  the  number  of  students.  Great  weight  is  laid  on  an 
adequate  provision  of  teaching  apparatus,  on  well-chosen  college 
libraries,  on  laboratories,  and  on  objects  and  apparatus  necessary 
for  the  teaching  of  natural  science.  Above  everything,  however, 
stress  is  laid  on  the  duty  of  the  staff  taking  a  real  interest  in 
the  life  and  occupations  of  the  scholars  out  of  school  hours. 
An  effort  is  being  made  in  this  connection  to  gather  all  non- 
resident students  into  hostels  which  are  organically  united  with 
the  colleges,  and  are  placed  under  the  care  of  the  teachers. 
Further,  a  clear  distinction  is   made  between   University  and 

India  is  growing  up  without  any  schooling  whatever.  Reckoning  the  children  of 
school-going  age  at  15  per  cent,  of  the  entire  population  (as  a  matter  of  fact, 
children  between  five  and  fifteen  compose  26  per  cent,  of  it),  there  were,  in  1901, 
five  and  three-quarter  million  such  children  in  the  Madras  Presidency  ;  of  these  only 
861,461  attended  any  kind  of  school,  and  the  Madras  Presidency,  with  the  exception 
of  Burma  and  the  Central  Districts  of  Bengal,  is  that  part  of  the  country  which  has 
the  most  complete  educational  equipment.  Scarcely  one-thirteenth  of  the  children 
of  school  age  in  India  at  the  present  time  attend  school  (Rev.  A.  Andrew,  The 
Uneducated  Children  of  the  {Madras)  Presidency,  Madras,  1904).  If  we  divide  the 
population  of  India  into  two  great  classes,  the  illiterates  and  those  who  have  attended 
some  kind  of  school  and  have  learnt  something,  there  are  in — 


Illiterates. 

Literates. 

Bengal          .... 

•     70,550,531 

4,194,33s 

United  Provinces     . 

46,212,917 

1,478,865 

Madras         .... 

35.803,347 

2,406,089 

Punjab          .... 

21,598,716 

857,103 

Bombay        .... 

17,383,545 

1,176,016 

Central  Provinces    . 

9,582,098 

294,548 

Assam          .... 

5,903,957 

222,386 

Burma          .... 

8,139,651 

2,223,962 

Birar             .... 

2,630,700 

123,316 

Ajmer           .... 

444,824 

32,088 

Coorg           .             .             .             .             . 

166,540 

14,067 

218,416,826 

13,022,77s 

There  is  thus  a  great  deal  to  be  done  still  in  connection  with  the  elementary 
schools  of  the  country, 


312  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

Higher  Secondary  education  ;    the    Colleges    must   be  housed 
in  special  buildings. 

The  results  of  the  Government  school  system  are  important, 
both  from  a  technical  and  from  a  scientific  standpoint ;  for  the 
religious  and  moral  education  of  young  India  it  is  acknowledged 
with  practical  unanimity  that  they  are  most  ominous.  Dr. 
Martin,  the  chief  director  of  education  in  Bengal,  says:  "The 
more  we  consider  the  present  state  of  things  in  India,  the  more 
are  we  convinced  .  .  .  that  the  principle  of  religious  neutrality 
is  made  too  much  of.  .  .  .  Science  has  torn  down  superstition, 
but  at  the  same  time  it  has  created  an  aptitude  for  doubt  and  a 
spirit  of  insubordination  which  destroy  the  very  bases  of  moral 
character."  A  devout  Hindu  complains:  "The  young  people 
of  India  regard  religion  as  the  ravings  of  hysterical  women; 
they  no  longer  believe  in  a  divine  Source  of  all  virtue;  they 
have  become  irreverent,  disobedient,  and  unfaithful."  Another 
complains  in  the  Hindu  newspaper  Indu  Prakash  in  1864: 
"  Education  provided  by  the  State  ...  is  founded  on  the 
benevolent  principle  of  non-interference  with  religion,  but  in 
reality  it  is  the  negation  of  God  in  life.  ...  It  practically 
teaches  atheism.  ...  As  soon  as  this  is  generally  felt  the  cry 
will  go  up  to  England  :  '  Father,  Father,  give  us  faith ! '  If 
England  will  not  hear  our  cry,  then  will  the  shriek  go  up  to 
Heaven  :  '  Father,  Father,  give  us  faith  ! ' "  (Stock,  History  of 
Church  Missionary  Society,  vol.  ii.  p.  503). 

Down  to  1854  the  elementary  school  system,  with  the 
exception  of  the  native  school,  had  been  completely  under 
missionary  control  ;  almost  half  the  scholars  attending  the 
High  Schools  had  likewise  belonged  to  them,  and  through  such 
scholars  they  had  exerted  a  large  and  important  influence. 
They  now  found  in  the  rapidly  developing  educational  schemes 
of  the  Government  an  all-powerful  rival.  What  position  should 
they  take  up  with  regard  to  it?  The  mission  school  has  of 
necessity  two  main  objects  which  the  Government  neither  can 
nor  will  include  in  its  programme — the  dissemination  of  a 
fundamental  knowledge  of  Christian  teaching,  and  the  training 
of  a  body  of  native  assistants.  It  seemed  to  be  the  best  solution 
of  the  difficulty  for  the  two  to  pursue  their  schemes  amicably 
but  separately,  and  for  the  missionaries  to  endeavour  to  render 
their  school  system  independent  and  up-to-date.  The  Basle 
Missionary  Society  after  a  short-lived  enthusiasm  for  the  new 
Government  scheme,  which  was  shared  at  that  time  by  nearly 
all  the  Societies,  was  the  first  to  take  action  along  these  lines. 
In  i860  it  severed  its  connection  with  the  Government  system, 
and  reorganised  its  schools  along  its  own  lines.  The  results 
were  overwhelming.      On  entering  upon  this  new  policy  the 


MISSIONARY  ORGANISATION  313 

Basle  Society  had  hoped,  perhaps  in  too  sanguine  a  fashion,  to 
gain  possession  of  the  whole  school  system  in  the  provinces 
where  it  laboured.  But  instead  of  this  the  Government  wrested 
from  them  the  direction  of  all  things  educational,  even  in  the 
midst  of  their  main  spheres  of  activity,  Kanara  and  Malabar. 
First  of  all,  the  English  school  at  Cannanore  had  to  be  given  up 
because  the  Government  had  erected  a  similar  one  in  the  same 
place  (1861).  Then  at  the  English  school  in  Kanara  there  were 
not  enough  missionaries  who,  in  addition  to  the  ordinary  school 
subjects,  were  sufficiently  masters  of  English  language  and 
literature  to  satisfy  the  demands  of  the  Government  for  a 
provincial  school  of  this  type.  The  English  school  at  Calicut 
was  simply  crushed  out  of  existence,  owing  to  an  elaborate 
school  plant  set  down  by  the  Government  in  the  immediate 
neighbourhood.  In  the  native  schools  such  thoroughgoing 
reforms  were  insisted  upon,  that  of  1450  scholars  in  1862,  only 
648  remained  in  1866.  In  1867  the  missionaries  sent  an  urgent 
request  to  the  Missionary  Committee  asking  for  re-union  with 
the  Government  educational  system,  and  the  committee 
complied,  though  with  heavy  hearts,  in  order  that  the  mission- 
aries might  not  be  driven  to  the  wall,  and  robbed  of  all 
influence  upon  the  rising  generation.  Thus  an  educational 
scheme  apart  from  that  of  the  Government  was  proved  an 
impossibility ;  against  such  rivalry  it  was  unable  to  hold  one's 
own. 

Now  whether  is  it  better,  from  a  missionary  point  of  view, 
to  limit  mission  school  education  to  the  needs  of  the  native 
Christian  community,  or  to  use  the  large  Government  grants 
as  a  lever  by  which  schools  may  be  so  developed  as  to  give 
missionaries  a  commanding  influence  over  the  scholars  who 
pass  through  them  ?  Mark  well !  The  point  at  issue  is  not 
whether  missions  should  keep  up  sufficient  schools  to  meet  the 
needs  of  the  native  Christian  community.  That  is  a  matter  on 
which  there  has  never  been  any  serious  difference  of  opinion. 
The  question  is,  whether  missions  should  establish  elementary 
and  secondary  schools  for  the  non-Christian  youth  of  India 
in  order  through  them  to  disseminate  Christian  knowledge 
amongst  the  heathen  masses  of  the  people.  No  branch  of 
mission  work  has  caused  such  heated  debate  as  this  of  schools 
for  heathen  children.  At  the  Decennial  Missionary  Confer- 
ences at  Allahabad  in  1872,  at  Calcutta  in  1882,  at  Bombay  in 
1892,^  and  at  the  South  India  Conference  at  Bangalore  in  1879, 
it  invariably  led  to  animated  and  often  to  elaborate  discussion. 
It  was  of  special  moment  that  the  great  Missionary  Secretary 
of  the  American  Board,  Rufus  Anderson,  and  his  entire  Society, 

'  Allgem.  Miss,  Zeit.,  pp.  75,  434,  481  ;  Basle  Miss.  Mag.,  1893,  p.  391. 


314  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

and  along  with  them  the  EngHsh  Baptist  Missionary  Society, 
should  cast  their  entire  weight  into  the  balance  against  the 
maintenance  of  an  extensive  system  of  schools  for  heathen 
children.  What  arguments  did  these  opponents  advance? 
"  School  teaching  is  not  missionary  work."  "  It  is  no  duty  of 
the  home  churches  at  their  own  cost  to  spread  higher  education 
among  any  people  whatsoever,  save  in  so  far  as  their  immediate 
raisou  d'etre,  the  propagation  of  the  gospel,  is  advanced  there- 
by." ^  Missions  have  neither  a  call  nor  a  mandate  to  teach 
English  literature,  history,  mathematics,  or  natural  science. 
The  preaching  of  the  gospel  to  the  heathen  and  the  exercise 
of  pastoral  care  over  the  native  churches  is  so  clearly  the  head 
and  front  of  all  missionary  labour  that  everything  must  be 
considered  as  pure  akKorpiov  which  does  not  directly  further 
this  end.  Any  union  between  the  State  and  Missions  can  only 
be  to  the  detriment  of  the  latter  ;  it  is  used  by  the  stronger 
partner,  the  State,  simply  as  an  auxiliary  to  the  attainment  of 
its  own  ends,  some  of  which  are  alien  to  the  objects  of  missions, 
and  some  of  which  are  indeed  antagonistic  to  those  objects. 
The  inspection  of  mission  schools  by  heathen  inspectors,  the 
introduction  of  text-books  utterly  incompatible  with  the  stand- 
point of  missions,  the  regulations  with  regard  to  the  teaching 
staff,  school  buildings,  the  school  inventory,  school  hours,  etc., 
place  missions  at  the  mercy  or  the  caprice  of  their  opponents. 
Besides,  the  whole  thing  is  like  a  screw  with  an  endless  worm  ; 
at  one  time  an  order  will  be  issued  making  all  religious  instruc- 
tion optional,  and  only  to  be  given  out  of  ordinary  school  hours 
(Educational  Dispatch,  1885,  in  the  North-Western  Provinces, 
withdrawn  after  pressure  from  missionary  circles) ;  at  another, 
it  will  be  decreed  that  all  the  subjects  that  are  under  Govern- 
ment inspection  must  be  taught  during  the  first  five  hours  of 
every  day,  whilst  religious  teaching  must,  if  at  all,  be  taken 
during  a  sixth  hour,  when  all  the  strength  and  power  of 
attention  on  the  part  of  the  children  is  exhausted  (Travancore, 
1902).  It  is  a  delusion  and  a  snare,  in  an  educational  system 
the  whole  efforts  of  which  are  directed  towards  examination 
drill  and  towards  the  acquirement  by  the  scholars  of  a  parrot- 
like facility  in  chattering  English,  for  missionaries  to  hope  to 
accomplish  anything  of  value  in  imparting  Christian  knowledge 
— a  subject  that  is  of  no  use  in  the  examination.  The  scholars 
tolerate  the  period  set  apart  for  Christian  religious  teaching, 
often  unwillingly  making  the  best  of  it  as  a  kind  of  bad  bargain 
because  they  have  a  better  chance  of  passing  the  State  examin- 
ations in  a  mission  school,  or  because  the  fees  of  the  mission 
school   are   lower   than    those   of  the    competing  Government 

^  Rufus  Anderson. 


MISSIONARY  ORGANISATION  315 

establishment.  But  it  is  unworthy  of  missions  to  use  good 
teaching  in  secular  subjects  for  an  examination  as  a  decoy  by 
which  to  entice,  for  purposes  of  religious  instruction,  that 
portion  of  the  youth  of  the  country  which  hungers  after 
knowledge.  And  the  results  of  mission  schools,  as  regards  the 
number  of  baptisms,  bear  no  sort  of  comparison  with  the  means 
and  strength  employed  ;  many  mission  schools  are  unable  to 
record  one  case  of  baptism  in  an  entire  decade.  And  further, 
what  could  this  dlite  of  highly  trained  missionaries,  who 
alone  can  be  employed  in  educational  mission  work,  in  that 
case  accomplish  along  the  lines  of  direct  missionary  work  ? 
Precisely  the  most  gifted  amongst  them  are  confined  to  close 
and  stuffy  schoolrooms,  and  both  intellectually  and  spiritually 
are  becoming  atrophied  under  the  mechanical  school  grind, 
whilst  away  outside,  far  across  the  thickly  populated  tracts  of 
land,  millions  are  dying  without  having  once  heard  the  good 
tidings  of  great  joy  ! 

These  are  indeed  weighty  considerations,  and  they  deserve  all 
the  more  attention,  since  it  is  incontrovertible  that  they  have  at 
any  rate  a  relative  justification.  But  let  us  also  hear  the  argu- 
ments of  the  educational  missionaries  !  They  admit,  it  is  true, 
that  the  positive  results  of  mission  schools,  as  far  as  baptisms 
are  concerned,  are  lamentably  small  during  the  time  the  children 
remain  at  school.  This  is,  however,  inevitable,  because  the  mis- 
sionaries have  to  do  only  with  children  in  the  schools,  and  they 
are  not  so  foolish  or  stupid  as  to  attempt  to  persuade  youngsters  to 
embrace  Christianity,  a  step  the  result  of  which  they  are  as  yet  un- 
able fully  to  realise.  But  if  to  the  small  number  of  those  baptized 
whilst  attending  school,  there  be  added  those  who  received  in 
school  their  first  impulse  towards  a  fundamental  knowledge  of 
Christianity,  but  who  have  only  been  baptized  later  in  life,  mission 
schools  will  be  found  to  lag  behind  no  branch  of  the  work  in 
practical  results,  except  the  missions  to  the  lowest  strata  of  the 
people  and  to  the  aborigines,  with  which,  very  justly,  they  cannot 
be  compared.  And  this  comparatively  small  number  of  converts, 
won  directly  or  indirectly  through  mission  schools,  are  the  very 
crown  and  rejoicing  of  Indian  missions,  the  most  brilliant 
representatives  and  pillars  of  the  Christian  Church,  the  leading 
spirits  in  the  ever-increasing  body  of  Indian  Christians.  They 
are  the  officers  of  the  main  army,  which  is  composed  of  members 
belonging  to  the  lower  orders  of  society.  Certainly  regulations 
and  inspections  at  the  hands  of  indifferent  or  antagonistic 
Government  officials  are  inconvenient,  but  they  can  be  kept 
within  bounds  by  the  strong  influence  missions  are  able  to 
exert  in  the  world  of  education,  both  by  means  of  their  exten- 
sive school  system  and  the  magnificent  results  they  obtain.     It 


3i6  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

was  a  matter  of  the  highest  consequence  that  Duff  had  a  hand 
in  shaping  the  famous  Educational  Dispatch  of  1854,  that 
missionaries  sat  on  both  the  great  Royal  Commissions  upon 
education  in  1882  and  1901,  and  that  missionaries  are  members 
of  the  Senates  of  all  the  Indian  universities.  That,  compara- 
tively speaking,  the  conditions  under  which  mission  schools  are 
carried  on  in  India  are  considerably  more  favourable  than  in 
the  English  colonies  of  South  Africa,  is  purely  a  result  of  the 
labours  of  the  great  educational  missionaries.  From  the 
remotest  times  India  has  been  dominated  by  a  little  body  of 
scholars  which  was  in  former  years  recruited  exclusively  from 
the  Brahman  and  kindred  classes  of  society.  To-day  this 
dominating  body,  in  whose  hands  lies  the  government  and  the 
future  of  India,  is  composed  of  the  graduates  of  the  Indian 
colleges,  and  any  one  who  wishes  to  exercise  an  influence 
upon  the  future  of  the  country  must  first  win  over  these 
men. 

Now  the  educational  authorities  of  the  country  are,  religiously 
speaking,  neutral ;  religion  is  taught  in  none  of  the  schools 
they  have  erected.  The  result  of  non-religious  instruction  in 
India  is,  in  almost  every  case,  that  a  young  man  loses  all  belief 
in  the  creed  of  his  fathers,  but  receives  no  new  faith ;  and  under 
these  circumstances  the  majority  of  those  who  have  been  through 
the  schools  and  colleges  drift  into  agnosticism  or  materialism,  and 
lead  a  disordered  and  profitless  life.  If  this  spreading  desola- 
tion is  to  be  fought  against,  it  can  only  be  (save  for  isolated 
attempts  on  the  part  of  both  Hindu  and  Muhammadan  reformers 
to  erect  colleges  on  a  basis  of  their  respective  beliefs)  by 
the  education  of  a  very  large  number  of  the  future  leaders  of 
the  country  in  a  specifically  Christian  atmosphere,  and  by 
permeating  them  through  and  through  with  Christian  conceptions 
and  ideals.  And  even  if  it  be  unfortunately  true  that  the 
periods  for  religious  instruction,  which  is  not  made  an  examina- 
tion subject,  are  looked  upon  by  many  scholars  as  a  necessary 
evil,  yet  on  the  other  hand  it  ought  not  to  be  forgotten  that  the 
Hindu  nature  is  so  essentially  religious,  that  it  is  a  compara- 
tively easy  thing  to  create  a  deep  interest  in  these  young  men 
for  religious  questions ;  and  nearly  all  educational  missionaries 
can  tell  of  truly  hallowed  hours  spent  in  the  midst  of  these 
unconverted  young  men,  who  hang  upon  every  word  that  issues 
from  their  lips.  Besides,  thanks  largely  to  educational  missions, 
a  fairly  accurate  acquaintance  with  the  Christian  religion  and 
the  Bible  have  come  to  be  quite  an  essential  in  good  society ; 
and  this,  too,  contributes  towards  gaining  the  attention  of 
scholars  during  religious  instruction. 

Four  general  considerations,  however,  preponderate  in  favour 


MISSIONARY  ORGANISATION  317 

of  mission  schools.  A  new  day  has  dawned  for  India.  The 
people  clamour  for  education,  and  missions  cannot  repress  their 
demand,  even  if  they  would.  Shall  missions  keep  themselves 
to  themselves  and  leave  this  new  development  to  itself,  or  shall 
they  enter  the  lists,  make  themselves  masters  of  the  movement, 
and  use  it  as  an  instrument  in  their  task  of  Christianising  the 
whole  land  ? 

One  conviction  forces  itself  at  every  step  upon  the  itinerant 
and  bazaar  preacher  in  India,  and  it  is  this — that  the  Hindu 
mind  is  so  intricately  and  inseparably  bound  up  with  its 
pantheistic  conceptions,  its  abtruse  theologumena  and  its  subtle 
philosophical  systems,  that  it  is  unspeakably  difficult  to  bridge 
over  the  gulf  betwixt  these  things  on  the  one  side  and  a  deeper 
understanding  of  the  Christian  view  of  life  and  evangelical  truth 
on  the  other.  Now  the  schools  offer  an  opportunity,  such  as 
can  be  found  nowhere  else,  of  introducing  step  by  step  to  a 
knowledge  of  the  Bible  just  those  intellectually  gifted  souls 
who  are  most  open  to  receive  truth  and  knowledge,  and  of 
teaching  them  to  regard  God  and  the  world  from  a  Christian 
standpoint.  This  is  preparatory  and  pioneer  work  of  incom- 
parable value,  and  such  systematic  elementary  grounding  at 
the  most  susceptible  age  exercises  an  abiding  influence  on  the 
rising  generation  which  no  other  branch  of  missionary  labour 
can  possibly  exert.  Further,  a  flood  of  Western  thought  in 
science,  in  art,  and  in  mechanical  appliances  is  now  unceasingly 
streaming  in  through  the  open  doors  of  India.  The  Indian 
Government  is  well  aware  that  it  can  only  attach  India 
in  perpetuity  to  itself,  it  can  only  become  one  with  India  by 
establishing  an  intellectual  communion  between  England  and 
India,  or,  in  other  words,  by  transplanting  the  intellectual  life 
of  England  to  India,  as  far  as  possible  in  its  entirety.  The 
schools  are  the  channels  by  which  this  remarkable  fusion  is  to 
be  brought  about.  Now  it  is  of  the  highest  importance  for  the 
future  of  missionary  work  in  India  that  Christianity  assert  itself 
in  the  eyes  of  the  Indian  peoples  as  the  intellectual  force  par 
excellence,  the  foundation  and  animating  energy  of  all  European 
civilisation.  And  that  can  only  be  done  by  maintaining  the 
very  best  schools  in  India,  and  by  teaching  in  them  with  force 
and  inspiration  that  the  Christian  conception  of  life  is  the  only 
scientific  as  well  as  the  only  satisfactory  one.  Finally,  if  the 
object  of  missions  is  really  to  make  the  peoples  of  India  the 
disciples  of  Jesus  Christ,  it  is  impossible  to  rest  content  with 
those  branches  of  work  which  experience  has  proved  fruitful 
only  among  the  lower  classes  of  the  people.  A  century's 
experience  confirms  the  fact  that  missionary  preaching,  both 
in  town  and  country,  only  touches  the  middle  classes  of  the 


3i8  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

people  sporadically  and  the  highest  classes  almost  not  at  all. 
The  only  means  of  access  as  yet  discovered  to  these  classes 
are  educational  missions  and,  more  recently,  zenana  missions. 
On  account  of  the  enormous  difficulties  that  present  themselves 
to  hinder  the  conversion  of  any  Hindu  belonging  to  these 
higher  classes,  it  is  improbable  that  there  will  be  any  large 
influx  from  their  circles  within  the  immediate  future.  All  the 
more  important  is  it,  therefore,  that  pioneer  work  should  be  done 
by  spreading  Christian  thought  in  such  circles,  and  by  producing 
in  their  midst  a  favourable  attitude  towards  Christianity.  Only 
thus  will  it  be  possible  to  overcome  the  deeply  rooted  prejudice 
of  these  classes  of  the  people,  and  to  make  easier  the  adhesion 
of  succeeding  generations  to  the  Christian  Church. 

In  conclusion,  we  may  add  that  no  Missionary  Conference 
in  India  has  been  able  to  deny  the  weight  of  these  arguments. 
The  outcome  of  their  deliberations  has  always  been  in  favour 
of  mission  schools.  We  have  already  mentioned  that  the 
English  Baptists  and  the  American  Board,  after  the  official 
visit  of  their  missionary  secretaries  in  1854  and  1855,  gave  up 
their  schools  for  heathen  children  and  limited  themselves  to 
such  schools  as  were  necessary  for  the  children  of  their 
adherents.  But  the  American  Board  soon  saw  that  it  had 
made  a  great  mistake,  and  it  has  gradually  built  up  a  fresh 
educational  system  on  its  own  lines.  The  English  Baptists 
have  not  come  to  the  same  determination ;  amongst  the  great 
Missionary  Societies  at  work  in  India  they  stand  alone  in  their 
opposition  to  higher  education.  All  the  other  Societies  have 
made  a  virtue  of  necessity  and  have  incorporated  their  educa- 
tional system  with  that  of  the  Government,  and  thus  promoted 
their  further  development.  To  what  an  extent  and  on  what 
lines  this  has  been  done  can  only  be  shown  in  a  sketch  of  each 
separate  Society's  work.  We  shall  here  content  ourselves  with 
giving  a  few  details  and  some  general  statistics.  In  India, 
excluding  Ceylon,  there  are  one  hundred  and  forty-one 
colleges,^  besides  forty-four  special  faculties  for  law,  medicine, 
art,  electrical  engineering,  etc.,  which  of  course  do  not  come 
within  the  purview  of  missions.  Of  these  141,  Protestant 
missions  claim  44,  or  over  25  per  cent.^     It  is  interesting  to 

^  For  the  total  number  of  colleges  the  only  information  at  our  disposal  is  the 
Census  Report  of  1901.  The  number  has  slightly  increased  since  then.  So  far  as 
reliable  details  were  obtainable,  we  have  rectified  the  figures  for  missionary  colleges 
from  the  most  recent  yearly  reports. 

-  Their  colleges,  which  are  academical  institutions  of  university  rank,  form  so 
remarkable  a  portion  of  Indian  missionary  activity  as  to  merit  our  special  con- 
sideration. But  the  very  statistics  to  which  we  are  forced  to  refer  in  this 
connection  demonstrate  with  what  extreme  care  even  the  best  statistics  upon 
separate  branches  of  missionary  work  must  be  used.  There  are  two  tables 
of    statistics    at    our    disposal.       Dennis,    in     his    Statistical    Survey    (p.    70), 


MISSIONARY   ORGANISATION  319 

notice  how  the  missionary  colleges  are  distributed  over  the 
Indian  provinces ;  this  is  a  fairly  reliable  test  of  the  extent 
of  missionary  labour  in  the  various  districts.  In  the  Bombay 
Presidency  there  is  only  one,  the  Wilson  College  at  Bombay. 
In  the  Punjab  there  are  six — under  the  American  Presbyterians 
at  Lahore,  under  the  Church  Missionary  Society  at  Amritsar, 
under  the  S.P.G.  at  Delhi,  under  the  Established  Church 
of  Scotland  at  Sialkot,  under  the  Church  Missionary  Society 

enumerates  thirty-four  colleges  with  22,084  students.  The  Decemiial  Missionary 
Statistics  give  thirty  colleges  and  8887  students.  But  Dennis  leaves  out  the 
C.M.S.  College  Class  at  Calcutta,  the  L.M.S.  St.  Andrew's  College  at  Gorakhpur, 
the  C.M.S.  College  at  Amritsar,  the  S.P.G.  College  at  Hazaribagh,  and  wrongly 
reckons  as  colleges  the  English  B.M.S.  College  at  Serampore,  which  is  a  theological 
seminary,  and  the  American  Methodist  Episcopal  Institute  in  Calcutta.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  Decennial  Statistics  omit  both  the  "Women's"  College  at  Lucknow 
(Methodist  Episcopal)  and  that  at  Palamcottah  (C.M.S.),  the  Bishop's  College  at 
Calcutta  (S.P.G.),  the  Ramsay  College  at  Almora  (L.M.S.),  and  the  Colleges  of 
the  L.M.S.  at  Nagercoil,  of  the  C.M.S.  at  Cottayam,  of  the  American  Baptists 
at  Ongole,  and  of  the  Lutheran  General  Synod  at  Guntur.  With  the  necessary 
additions  and  subtractions,  and  the  number  of  colleges  built  since  1901,  we  arrive 
at  the  total  of  forty  colleges  given  in  the  te.\t.  It  must  be  remembered  that  the 
word  "college"  has  a  wide  range  of  meaning  in  England  and  America,  and  has 
come  to  be  applied  to  all  higher  schools  ;  pains  must  therefore  be  taken  in  investiga- 
tions such  as  the  present  to  differentiate  those  which  are  "colleges"  in  the  technical 
sense  of  the  term,  and  with  which  we  are  now  solely  concerned.  But  there  is  still 
greater  confusion  with  regard  to  the  number  of  students.  Nearly  all  these  Indian 
colleges  are  part  and  parcel  of  more  or  less  highly  developed  educational  systems  ; 
for  the  most  part  the  schools  are  found  under  the  same  roof  as  the  college,  and  the 
pupils  are  passed  on  from  the  lower  section  to  the  higher.  Now  both  the  above- 
mentioned  tables  mix  up  the  actual  college  students  with  the  scholars  attending  the 
High  Schools  and  other  similar  establishments,  though  in  a  different  way,  and  in  a 
manner  which  it  is  only  partly  possible  to  check.  To  determine  the  number  of 
actual  students  we  must  depend  on  the  reports  of  the  Missionary  Societies,  and  as 
these  reports  often  fail  for  years  together  to  record  the  numbers  for  the  separate 
sections  of  the  schools,  we  are  compelled  to  turn  back  until  we  can  find  the  numbers 
actually  stated.  The  table  we  have  thus  obtained  is  necessarily  incorrect,  since  it 
contains  statistics  covering  five  years,  some  of  which  have  only  been  obtained  by 
calculation  based  on  analogy.  However,  it  comes  as  near  to  the  actual  fact  as  the 
available  sources  of  information  render  possible.  According  to  this  table  then, 
the  forty  missionary  colleges  have  in  all  about  5930  students.  Amongst  Protestant 
societies  engaged  in  this  higher  educational  work  the  leading  position  is  taken  by 
the  Scotch,  its  inspired  founders.  They  have,  it  is  true,  only  seven  colleges, — four 
belonging  to  the  United  Free  Church,  and  three  to  the  Church  of  Scotland — but 
these  seven  Scotch  Colleges  have  on  their  roll  3100  students,  more  than  half  the 
total  for  all  the  Societies.  Their  great  rival  is  the  C.M.S.,  which  possesses  eight 
colleges,  a  large  number  for  a  single  Society  ;  and  then  comes  the  S.P.G.  with  six 
colleges.  Far  and  away  the  largest  and  most  influential  are  the  Christian  College  of 
the  United  Free  Church  at  Madras,  with  800  students,  and  the  General  Assembly's 
Institution  (belonging  to  the  Church  of  Scotland)  at  Calcutta,  with  750  students.  The 
principal  of  the  former,  Dr.  Miller,  who  has  accomplished  so  much  for  Indian 
education,  is  at  the  present  time  the  most  famous  educational  missionary  in  India, 
a  man  whose  vote  has  as  much  weight  on  the  Madras  Legislative  Council  or  on  the 
Senate  of  the  Madras  University  as  in  the  great  Missionary  Conferences.  The 
Government  has  conferred  high  distinctions  upon  him,  his  own  Church  has  given 
him  the  greatest  honour  in  its  power  by  electing  him  Moderator  of  its  General 
Assembly,  and  his  grateful  students  have  erected  a  bronze  statue  in  his  honour  during 
his  lifetime. 


320  HISTORY   OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

at  Peshawar,  and  under  the  American  United  Presbyterians,^ 
at  Rawalpindi.  In  Central  India  there  are  two — that  of 
the  Canadian  Presbyterians  at  Indore,  and  that  of  the  United 
Free  Church  of  Scotland  at  Nagpur,  Central  Provinces.  In 
the  United  Provinces  there  are  seven — those  of  the  Church 
Missionary  Society  at  Agra  and  Gorakhpur,  of  the  S.P.G. 
at  Cawnpore,  of  the  London  Missionary  Society  at  Almora,  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  (for  both  men  and  women)  at 
Lucknow,  and  one  still  in  the  making  at  Allahabad,  which 
has  been  used  for  purposes  of  higher  education  since  1902  in 
connection  with  the  Jumna  Missionary  High  School  of  the 
American  Presbyterians,  In  Bengal  there  are  six — four  in 
Calcutta  (S.P.G.,  L.M.S.,  the  United  College  of  the  Established 
Church  of  Scotland  and  the  United  Free  Church  of  Scotland, 
and  the  C.M.S.  College  Class),  one  at  Hazaribagh  (the 
College  of  the  Dublin  Brotherhood),  and  that  of  the  Wesleyan 
Methodists  at  Bankura.  The  remaining  seventeen  are  all 
in  the  Madras  Presidency.^  Of  the  16,703  students  in  the 
141  colleges  of  India,  5930,  or  35  per  cent,  of  the  whole,  are 
in  the  40  missionary  colleges.  That  is  sufficient  to  show  what 
an  important  factor  in  the  Indian  academic  world  the  educa- 
tional work  of  missions  occupies.  Of  the  5461  secondary 
schools  of  all  grades  (High,  Lower  Secondary,  Anglo- 
Vernacular,  etc.)  with  586,628  scholars,  309  are  mission  schools 
with  41,209  pupils,  and  of  98,133  elementary  schools  with 
3,150,000  scholars,  evangelical  missions  are  responsible  for 
5529  with  152,442  scholars  on  their  books.  It  has  been 
calculated  that  the  pupils  of  the  mission  schools  compose : — 

35  per  cent,  of  all  the  students  in  colleges  (technical  and  professional  colleges 

excepted). 
10  per  cent,  of  those  who  matriculate  from  the  high  schools  to  the  colleges. 


20       , 

of  those  who  take  the  first  academical  examination  (F.A. ). 

25 

of  those  who  take  the  principal  ,,                 „             (B.A.). 

16 

highest    ,,                  „             (M.A.). 

25     , 

of  the  scholars  attending  primary  schools  for  boys. 

IS       , 

,,                  ,,                              ,,               for  girls. 

50 

,,                 ,,                 boys'  boarding  schools. 

100       , 

,,                 ,,                 girls' boarding  schools.' 

^  Also  the  famous  Educational  Institute  for  Girls  of  the  American  Presbyterians 
at  Dehra  Dun  now  has  University  classes  up  to  the  F.A.  examination. 

^  At  Bellary  (L.M.S.),  Cottayam  (C.M.S.),  Guntur  (American  Lutheran  General 
Synod),  Madras  (the  Christian  College  and  those  of  the  C.M.S.  and  the  W.M.M.S.), 
Manargudi  (W. M.M.S.),  Masulipatam  (C.M.S.),  Vellore  (American  Reformed 
Church),  Nagercoil  (L.M.S. ),  Ongole  (American  Baptist),  Palamcottah  (C.M.S. 
— for  women),  Tinnevelly  (C.M.S. — for  men),  Tanjore  and  Trichinopoly  (S.P.G. ), 
and  Pasumalai  (A.B.) 

'  We  have  no  means  of  checking  these  figures,  which  are  taken  from  the  preface 
to  llie  Missionary  Statistical  Tables  (pp.  iii.  and  iv. ),  as  the  final  tables  given 
for  mission  schools  on  pp.  62-63  are  arranged  on  a  different  principle  to  the  corre- 
sponding tables  in  the  Goveriwient  igoi  Census  (vol.  i.  p.  183). 


MISSIONARY  ORGANISATION  321 

The  development  of  educational  missions  has  entailed,  as  a 
necessary  consequence,  the  creation  of  a  new  class  of  missionary 
helpers,  namely,  Christian  teachers,  possessed  of  special  qualifi- 
cations and  training.  Down  to  the  year  1854  missionaries  in 
India,  like  those  in  other  fields,  were  disposed,  mainly  for  pur- 
poses of  simplicity  and  uniformity  of  organisation,  to  train  but  one 
class  of  native  assistant  and  to  select  the  most  brilliant  and 
most  trustworthy  of  these  for  ordination.  Then  the  Government 
intervened  and  insisted  upon  having  trained  teachers  in  all  grant- 
aided  schools,  whilst  for  the  higher  demands  of  the  middle  and 
high  schools  only  such  as  had  taken  special  qualifying  studies  were 
selected.  From  the  very  beginning  missionaries  had  frequently 
employed  non-Christians  as  teachers,  particularly  in  schools  that 
were  largely  or  entirely  attended  by  heathen  children,  but  on  the 
whole  they  had  no  reason  to  be  satisfied  with  the  experiment. 
When  the  schools  were  taken  over  by  the  Government,  many  non- 
Christian  teachers  had  at  first,  unfortunately,  to  be  appointed, 
because  Christian  teachers  of  the  requisite  experience  and  skill 
were  not  to  be  found.  To  remove  this  disadvantage,  nearly  all 
the  societies  founded  training  colleges,  whether  in  connection 
with  the  teachers'  courses  instituted  by  the  Government  or 
entirely  independent  therefrom.  At  the  present  time  there  are 
forty-seven  ^  such  training  colleges,  by  far  the  larger  number  of 
which  are  for  village  teachers.  But  still  they  do  not  meet  the 
demand,  and  the  question  how  to  obtain  an  adequate  number 
of  capable  schoolmasters  and  schoolmistresses  for  the  very 
extensive  educational  work  is  a  regular  subject  of  discussion  at 
the  Indian  missionary  conferences. 

The  educational  ladder  in  the  work  of  most  missions  is 
remarkably  similar.  First  we  find  a  broad  foundation  of  simple 
and  primitive  village  schools ;  these  elementary  schools  only 
carry  their  scholars,  in  general,  as  far  as  the  Lower  Primary,  and 
the  school  buildings  are  as  simple  as  possible,  even  forms  being 
lacking  in  the  majority  of  them.  After  passing  through  this 
school,  the  better  scholars  are  assembled  in  a  station  school, 
which  is  ordinarily  found  only  at  places  where  a  missionary 
regularly  resides.  Whilst  the  sexes  are  seldom  divided  in  the 
village  schools,  they  are  separated  at  the  station  schools  into 
boys'  and  girls'  departments ;  whilst  the  village  schools  are 
merely  day  schools,  those  at  the  stations  are  generally  boarding 
schools ;  whilst  heathen  children  are  admitted  to  the  village 
schools,  the  boarding  houses  of  the  station  schools  will  only 
accept  Christian  children  as  a  general  rule,  and  heathen 
children  are  merely  invited  to  attend  as  day  scholars.  The  station 

^  There  are   in    India  altogether  170  such    training  colleges.      The  missionary 
quota  thereto  is  thus  over  25  per  cent,  of  the  whole. 

21 


322  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

schools  generally  take  the  scholars  as  far  as  the  Upper  Primary 
or  Lower  Secondary.  Nearly  all  the  larger  missions  crown 
their  school  system  with  one  or  several  more  advanced  institu- 
tions, according  as  value  is  set  upon  educational  work,  and 
according  to  the  extent  to  which  it  is  carried  on.  Those  with 
more  modest  pretensions  content  themselves  with  planning  a 
"  High  School "  at  the  summit  of  their  ascending  series  ;  others, 
whose  school  system  is  further  developed,  erect  several  "  High 
Schools  "  in  the  central  town  of  a  large  mission  district,  and  then 
terminate  the  whole  with  a  University  college.  If  this  sequence 
of  village  school,  station  school,  high  school,  and  college  be  borne 
in  mind,  we  shall  have  a  good  general  idea  of  the  schools  in  con- 
nection with  any  mission.  Local  or  provisional  necessities  may 
sometimes  be  responsible  for  slight  deviations. 

It  is  true  that  in  this  connection  great  difficulties  are  experi- 
enced in  many  of  the  elementary  schools  owing  to  the  large 
number  of  Christian  children  from  the  outcaste  strata  of  the  popu- 
lation, and  that  the  outlook  is  by  no  means  everywhere  a  happy 
one.  In  the  Presidency  of  Madras  (excepting  Travancore  and 
Cochin),of  636,344  Roman  Catholics  and  372,279  Protestants  there 
were,  according  to  the  calculations  of  the  Scotch  missionary.  Rev. 
Adam  Andrew,  in  1901,  not  less  than  734,000  Christians  above 
five  years  of  age  who  could  neither  read  nor  write.  In  the  two 
districts  of  Nellore  and  Kistna,  the  headquarters  of  American 
Baptist  missions,  the  Census  of  1901  gives  154,312  Christians,  of 
whom  15,770  are  Roman  Catholics  and  138,542  Protestant.  Of 
these  126,290  have  received  no  education  whatever,  and  14,500 
children  of  school-going  age  attend  no  school.  School  training 
is  something  quite  new  for  these  outcaste  classes.  Missions  have 
neither  the  means,  nor  would  they  deem  it  wise,  to  build  schools 
wholly  at  their  own  expense,  and  even  if  they  did  so,  they  have 
no  power  to  insist  on  regular  attendance.  Thus  there  is  plenty 
of  room,  especially  in  these  Panchama  missions,  for  developing 
the  system  of  elementary  schools.  A  model  system  is  that,  for 
example,  of  the  Basle  Missionary  Society,  which  has  15,054 
church  members  and  10,339  scholars,  the  latter  being  divided  into 
6875  heathen  and  3464  Christian  children.  That  is  to  say,  that 
23  per  cent,  of  the  children  of  Christian  parents,  or  nearly  all  those 
of  school  age,  did  as  a  matter  of  fact  attend  school.  Even  better 
figures  can  be  shown  by  the  United  Free  Church  of  Scotland, 
which  is,  of  course,  above  all  an  educational  mission. 

On  an  average,  Protestant  Christians,  in  spiteof  being  mostly 
drawn  from  the  lowest  classes,  excel  all  other  strata  of  the  popu- 
lation in  India  with  the  one  exception  of  the  Brahmans,  as  far 
as  education  is  concerned.  In  the  Madras  Presidency,  for 
example,  English  is  spoken  by  one  Hindu  in  every  132,  by  one 


MISSIONARY  ORGANISATION  323 

Muhammadan  in  every  157,  but  by  one  in  every  15  Christians. 
One-fifth  of  those  who  can  read  and  write  in  this  province  are 
Christians.  Still  more  advantageous  to  the  Christian  element  is 
the  condition  of  the  weaker  sex  in  this  province.  In  every  10,000 
women,  70  of  those  who  can  read  and  write  are  Hindus,  86 
Muhammadans,  but  913  are  Christians.  Of  the  20,3 14  women  in 
India  who  understand  English  one  is  a  Jain,  JJ  are  Muhammadans, 
1770  Hindus,  but  18,402  are  Christians  ! 


5.  Other  Missionary  Work  among  the 
Educated  Classes 

Missionaries  did  not  rest  content  with  building  colleges  and  im- 
parting Christian  teaching  within  their  walls.  They  were  deter- 
mined to  use  every  avenue  of  approach  by  which  a  knowledge  of 
Christianity,  as  the  truth  that  is  able  to  save  the  soul,  might  be 
imparted  to  those  circles  which  were  ready  to  receive  Western 
culture.  Beginning  with  adults,  and  step  by  step  descending  to 
school-children,  let  us  consider  their  more  important  efforts  in 
this  direction.  We  shall  find  that  work  amongst  the  educated 
heathen  population  and  amongst  the  English-trained  native 
Christians  goes  hand  in  hand,  and  that  all  these  efforts  are  put 
forth  with  a  view  to  both  classes. 

The  English-speaking  educated  classes  —  just  like  the 
educated  classes  in  every  country — are,  comparatively  speaking, 
difficult  of  access.  They  are  mostly  found  in  the  large  towns, 
in  influential  positions,  working  under  high  pressure  and  subject 
to  many  distractions.  It  is  not  possible  to  estimate  how  many 
English-speaking  natives  there  are  in  India,  apart  from  the 
Eurasians.  The  Government  Census  of  1891  gave  386,032; 
that  of  1901  gives  0*57  per  cent,  of  the  whole  population,  i.e. 
\\  millions.  But  that  is  no  doubt  too  high  an  estimate  ;  at  the 
very  most  we  could  only  expect  the  figures  of  1891  to  have 
about  doubled.  Yet  the  influence  of  these  men,  the  intellectual 
elite  of  India,  is  far  greater  than  might  be  inferred  from  such 
modest  figures.  It  is  just  in  such  circles,  however,  that  very 
great  obstacles  lay  in  the  path  of  Christianity.  The  irreligion 
which  prevails  in  the  schools  through  which  the  majority  of 
them  have  passed  has  deeply  impregnated  them  with  the 
spirit  of  agnosticism  and  materialism.  All  the  religious  move- 
ments of  modern  Hinduism,  the  Brahmo  Samaj,  theosophy, 
the  Swami  Vivekananda,  Mrs.  Besant,  the  Arya  Samaj  and 
others,  win  the  greater  part  of  their  adherents  from  these  classes 
of  society.  On  the  other  hand,  we  have  universal  testimony 
to  the  effect  that  amongst  them  is  to  be  found  many  a  Nice- 


324  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

demus,  and  many  who  are  convinced,  at  any  rate  intellectually, 
of  the  truth  of  Christianity.  The  ordinary  name  for  such 
persons  in  India  is  "  borderers."  Their  influence  and  importance 
is  so  great  that  particular  attention  must  be  paid  to  them. 
They  are  accessible  to  English  literature  and  every  kind  of 
work  in  the  English  language.  For  this  reason  Bishop  Cotton 
and  other  distinguished  men  have  arranged  cycles  of  apologetic 
lectures ;  a  plan  that  met  with  even  more  acceptance  was  to 
persuade  famous  preachers  and  professors  from  both  England 
and  America  to  undertake  lecturing  tours  in  India.  In  1872 
Dr.  Seelye,  an  American  theological  professor,  held  a  series  of 
evangelistic  lectures  at  Bombay,  Ahmadnagar,  and  Poona. 
In  1882,  a  clever  American  theologian,  Rev.  Joseph  Cook,  and 
a  former  Free  Church  of  Scotland  missionary.  Rev.  Murray 
Mitchell,  travelled  through  the  length  and  breadth  of  India. 
In  the  two  winters  of  1886  and  1887  the  Church  Missionary 
Society  conducted  two  splendidly  organised  "  Winter  Missions  " 
in  every  part  of  its  Indian  field.  During  the  first  winter  the 
missioners  were  their  own  Secretary,  Rev.  Mr.  Wigram  and  his 
son,  whilst  in  the  following  year  eight  eminent  speakers,  four 
clergymen  and  four  laymen,  formed  the  deputation.  In  1889 
the  Keswick  Convention  sent  Mr.  Grubb  to  visit  South  India 
and  Ceylon.  In  the  next  few  years  there  followed  Dr.  Pente- 
cost, Rev.  Wm.  Haslam,  George  Muller,  Lord  Radstock, 
Rev.  E.  N.  Thwaites  and  others,  partly  in  connection  with 
individual  missionary  societies,  partly  to  carry  on  revival 
work  generally  amongst  the  native  Christians  and  the  educated 
Hindus.  As  a  result  of  the  Parliament  of  Religions  at  Chicago  in 
1893,  Miss  Caroline  Haskell,  an  earnest  and  wealthy  American 
lady,  gave  a  donation  of  twenty  thousand  dollars  that  a  lecturing 
tour  in  India  might  be  undertaken  every  few  years  by  some 
distinguished  theologian.  The  first  to  undertake  the  mission 
was  Rev.  J.  H.  Barrows,  D.D.,  who  had  presided  over  the 
Chicago  Congress,  and  his  tour  in  1896  was  an  important  event 
for  India.  In  later  years  he  has  been  followed  by  Dr.  Fair- 
bairn  of  Oxford  and  Dr.  Cuthbert  Hall  of  New  York.  One 
disadvantage  ot  these  lecturing  tours  is  that  the  lecturers 
themselves  are  not  sufficiently  familiar  with  Indian  ideas  and 
ways  of  thinking,  and  they  therefore  speak  and  act  almost 
invariably  purely  as  Americans  or  Englishmen.  On  all  hands 
it  is  admitted,  however,  that  streams  of  blessing  and  awakening 
to  better  things  have  resulted  from  these  meetings — at  which 
immense  audiences  have  been  the  general  rule.  Since  1900  the 
Church  Missionary  Society  has  maintained  a  missionary  in 
Bombay,  Rev.  Hector  McNeile,  M.A.,  and  the  Wesleyan 
Methodist  Missionary  Society  one  at  Madras,  the  Rev.  T,  W. 


MISSIONARY  ORGANISATION  325 

Kellett,  M.A.  (on  his  much  lamented  early  death  succeeded  by 
the  Rev.  D.  G.  M.  Leith),  for  the  sole  purpose  of  exercising 
pastoral  care  over  all  those,  both  in  these  cities  and  for  a 
considerable  distance  round,  who  have  received  an  English 
education.  This  ought  to  be  done  more  extensively,  so  that 
some  one  might  always  give  personal  attention  to  those  who 
have  left  school,  might  confirm  the  religious  impressions  there 
made  upon  them,  and  deepen  their  knowledge  of  Christian 
truth. 

Next  in  importance  to  the  class  just  considered — i.e.  those 
who  have  passed  through  the  schools  and  grown  up — comes 
that  consisting  of  the  16,700  students  now  in  the  colleges. 
For  the  6000  of  this  number  who  are  pursuing  their  studies  in 
mission  colleges,  Christian  oversight  is  by  no  means  limited  to 
class  instruction.  Everywhere  the  missionaries  are  building 
hostels,  separate  ones  being  provided  for  Christian  and  heathen 
students ;  these  hostels  are  for  the  most  part  modest  establish- 
ments, where  for  a  very  small  sum  students  can  obtain  board 
and  lodging,  and  those  who  are  Christians  religious  instruction 
also.  And  as  far  as  the  missionaries'  time  allows,  they 
endeavour  to  assist  the  students,  who  are  generally  very 
inexperienced  and  have  difficulty  in  following  the  lectures, 
which  are  exclusively  in  English,  in  their  home  studies  and 
preparation.  Besides  this,  they  conduct  Bible  classes,  debating 
societies,  and  those  kinds  of  athletics  for  which  Englishmen 
are  always  such  enthusiasts. 

Efforts  are,  however,  also  made  to  gain  an  influence  over  the 
students  who  do  not  belong  to  missionary  colleges.  These 
young  men  almost  invariably  reside  in  the  midst  of  temptation 
and  in  great  poverty,  and  various  missionaries,  particularly  those 
belonging  to  the  Church  Missionary  Society  and  the  English 
Baptist  Missionary  Society,  made  efforts  a  considerable  time 
back  to  get  hold  of  some  of  them  ;  but  the  first  systematic 
attempt  to  win  these  particular  young  men  was  made  by  the 
Oxford  Brotherhood  in  Calcutta.  In  1894  ^  hostel  was  built 
for  them,  which  was  at  once  enthusiastically  patronised.  Of  yet 
greater  importance  has  been  a  journal,  which  was  founded  by 
the  Brotherhood  specially  for  these  particular  circles  ;  it  was 
called  EpipJiaiiy,  and  has  become  an  open  meeting-place  for 
both  Christians  and  heathen  to  discuss  their  spiritual  difficulties 
and  problems ;  undoubtedly  this  has  been  a  most  fruitful 
undertaking.  We  have  already  mentioned  that  this  magazine, 
with  its  three  thousand  subscribers,  is  one  of  the  most  widely 
read  organs  connected  with  Indian  missions,  and  amongst  the 
students  it  probably  wields  far  and  away  the  largest  influence. 
The  Church  Missionary  Society  followed  some  years  later  with 


326  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

a  hostel  at  Allahabad,  opened  in  1901.^  It  then  went  a  step 
farther,  and  located  in  Allahabad  a  special  students'  missionary. 
Rev.  W.  E.  S.  Holland,  well  known  to  English  students  as 
one  of  the  Secretaries  of  the  Student  Volunteer  Missionary 
Union.  Student  hostels  in  University  cities,  however,  will 
probably  soon  become  more  important  when  the  Indian  Uni- 
versities cease  to  be  merely  examining  bodies  and  become 
real  teaching  bodies  like  those  of  Scotland  and  Germany.  This 
has  already  been  accomplished  in  Lahore,  it  is  being  arranged 
for  at  Allahabad,  at  the  Muir  College  there,  and  is  a  thing 
greatly  to  be  desired  in  India. 

Still  more  important  was  the  advent  of  the  Young  Men's 
Christian    Association    and     kindred    organisations    in    work 
amongst  the  youth   of   India.     Since  the  year    1886  or  there- 
abouts  a^  powerful    missionary   spirit    has    been    stirring   the 
student  world  of  Great  Britain  and  America ;   and  just  as  the 
same  spirit  has  gradually  won  for  itself  a  foothold  in  all  Pro- 
testant countries  on  the  Continent  of  Europe,  so  has  it  affected 
almost  every  part  of  the  world-wide  mission  field.     There  are 
various  associations  at  work  ;  sometimes  their  lines  of  operations 
are  parallel,  sometimes  they  merge  the  one  into  the  other.     The 
most   important  are  (i)    the    Indian    National    Council  of  the 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association  and  the  particular  branch 
of  this  Association  which  has  undertaken  to  work  at  the  Uni- 
versities, the    Intercollegiate   Y.M.C.A.  of    India   and    Ceylon. 
The  first  branch  of  the  Y.M.C.A.  was  formed  at  Trivandrum, 
South  Travancore,  in   1870.     In  1889  the  first  Secretary  of  this 
organisation    landed    in    India    and    took    up    his    residence  in 
Madras.     (2)  The  Young  Women's   Christian  Association  has 
likewise  a  special  branch  for  University  work.     (3)  The  Student 
Volunteer  Movement  of  India  and    Ceylon  (in  close  relations 
with  the   Intercollegiate   Y.M.C.A.).     All  are  branches  of  the 
World's  Student    Christian  Federation,  which  was  founded  in 
Sweden  in  1895,  and  of  which  John  Mott  is  the  General  Secre- 
tary.    All  three  organisations  are  intended  for  Englishmen  as 
well  as  Indians,  for  Hindus  and  Muhammadans  as  well  as  for 
Christians.     It  is  therefore  impossible  to  estimate  exactly  the 
extent    of  the    missionary    work    they  perform.     In    1900   the 
Y.M.C.A.  possessed  in   India  and  Burma   131   branches  with  a 
membership  of  5265,  to  which  we  must  add  21   branches  and 
750  members    in    Ceylon.     Of  these,  41    branches    with    3000 
students  (1903)  belong  to  the  "Intercollegiate  Department"; 
that  is  to  say,  they  are  at  work  entirely  amongst  students.     The 
Young  Women's  Christian  Association  had  in   1900  260  branch 
associations  with  3903  members  in  India  and  Burma,  and  five 
^  The  C.M.S.  have  a  hostel  in  Lahore  for  Christian  students. 


MISSIONARY  ORGANISATION  327 

branches  in  Ceylon  with  500  on  their  books.  Twenty-eight  of 
these,  with  500  members,  belong  to  the  Intercollegiate  Depart- 
ment. The  Y.W.C.A.  branch  associations  were  united  in  1896 
in  a  "  National  Union  for  India,  Burma,  and  Ceylon."  The 
development  of  work  amongst  the  students  is  due  to  Robert 
Wilder,  who  from  1892  to  1902  placed  his  whole  strength 
and  great  eloquence  at  the  service  of  the  movement,  whilst 
occupying  secretaryships  at  Calcutta,  Poona,  and  Coonoor  ; 
and  to  John  Mott,  who  in  the  winter  of  1895-1896  went 
from  college  to  college  all  over  India  as  in  one  long  triumphal 
procession.  The  centres  of  this  work  are  of  course  at  those 
places  where  students  most  do  congregate — Calcutta,  the  first 
in  importance  of  all,  Madras,  Bombay,  Lahore,  Colombo,  and 
Allahabad.  At  Madras  a  former  Postmaster-General  of  the 
United  States  and  a  most  generous  man,  Mr.  Wanamaker, 
has  presented  a  truly  imposing  building  to  serve  as  head- 
quarters of  the  movement,  from  which  a  highly  gifted  Swede, 
L.  P.  Larsen,  carries  on  a  splendid  and  many-sided  activity. 
In  Calcutta  the  work  amongst  the  Europeans  and  Eurasians, 
and  those  of  pure  Indian  descent,  has  been  divided  and  con- 
centrated at  two  centres,  each  favourably  situated  for  its 
respective  operations.  The  headquarters  of  the  work  amongst 
the  women  students  at  Allahabad  is  the  "  Lady  Muir 
Memorial,"  of  which  Miss  Agnes  de  Selincourt  is  the 
Directress;  more  recently,  in  1904,  a  training  school  for 
zenana  missionaries  and  Bible-women  has  been  linked  on 
to  its  other  activities.  The  Young  Women's  Christian 
Association  also  possesses  premises  of  its  own  in  Bombay, 
and  these  serve  as  headquarters  for  manifold  missionary 
labours.  In  1905  a  beautiful  new  building  was  erected  at 
Colombo  for  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  at  a 
cost  of  over  ;^50oo. 

For  younger  scholars  of  both  sexes  there  has  been  an  im- 
portant extension  of  Sunday-school  work  during  the  last  two 
decades.  After  various  lesser  attempts  made  by  Carey  (at 
Serampore  in  1803)  and  other  missionaries,  more  particularly 
those  belonging  to  the  American  Presbyterians,  Dr.  Scott, 
the  American  Methodist,  made  an  impassioned  appeal  to 
missionaries  assembled  at  the  General  Missionary  Conference 
held  at  Allahabad  in  1872,  to  introduce  Sunday  schools  on  the 
"  group  system,"  both  amongst  the  children  of  the  native 
Christians  and  amongst  those  coming  from  heathen  homes.  In 
1876  the  India  Sunday  School  Union  was  founded.  The 
American  missionaries  were  the  protagonists  and  prime  movers 
in  this  new  department.  They  established  Sunday  schools 
mainly  in  connection  with  their  mission  schools  ;  in  some  places 


328  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

they  succeeded  in  creating  them  even  without  such  support. 
Since  that  time  the  English  missionary  societies  and,  somewhat 
later,  most  of  the  German  and  Scandinavian  societies  have 
become  warm  supporters  of  the  Sunday  schools ;  the  only 
difference  being  that  the  last-named  societies  have  confined 
their  work  mainly  to  children  of  Christian  parentage.  The 
Sunday-school  Union,  whose  President  is  that  most  distin- 
guished Indian  Christian,  Sir  Harnam  Singh  Ahluwalia  of 
Kapurthala,  is  at  present  under  the  direction  of  two  special 
missionaries  (of  whom  one  is  a  lady) ;  to  it  belong  4360  Sunday 
schools  and  165,931  scholars.  It  pays  particular  attention  to 
Sunday-school  literature,  primarily  with  a  view  to  the  thorough 
preparation  of  the  teachers,  but  the  scholars  are  not  forgotten  ; 
its  special  organ  is  the  India  Sunday  School  Journal.  The 
International  Sunday  School  Lesson  Syllabus  is  printed  in 
several  languages.  A  co-ordinate  organisation  of  more  recent 
date  is  the  "  Children's  Special  Service  Mission  "  ;  it  seeks  to 
arrange  religious  gatherings  especially  for  children,  to  produce 
and  circulate  useful  literature,  and  most  important  of  all,  to  give 
assistance  and  inspiration  in  regular  daily  Bible  reading.  In 
this  last  endeavour  it  is  working  hand  in  hand  with  the  "  Inter- 
national Bible  Readers'  Association,"  w^hich  receives  special 
support  from  the  Church  Missionary  Society  at  Tinnevelly. 
Partly  in  connection  with  these  two  organisations,  but  also 
partly  independent  of  them,  there  were  in  1900  274,402  Sunday- 
school  scholars  in  India,  17,350  in  Burma,  and  27,899  in  Ceylon, 
a  total  of  319,651.  How  rapidly  the  Sunday-school  system 
has  developed  is  shown  by  the  following  figures:  in  1881  there 
were  only  61,688  Sunday-school  scholars  in  India;  in  1890 
there  were  135,565,  and  in  1900  274,402.  A  parallel  organisa- 
tion, which  is  zealously  and  successfully  carried  on  in  circles 
more  especially  American,  is  that  of  the  Young  People's 
Society  of  Christian  Endeavour ;  it  was  only  imported  to 
India  fifteen  years  ago,  but  in  1900  there  were  already 
174  branches  with  a  membership  of  4349  in  the  Madras 
Presidency  alone.  Similar  associations  exist  in  Methodist 
circles  under  the  name  of  "  Wesley  Guilds "  or  "  Epworth 
Leagues." 

A  method  especially  beloved  and  cultivated  in  Scotland  of 
encouraging  young  people  to  a  diligent  and  attentive  reading 
of  the  Scriptures  is  the  holding  of  written  or  oral  Bible  ex- 
aminations at  stated  intervals  or  on  special  occasions.  Very 
considerable  use  is  made  on  the  Indian  mission  field  of  this 
practical  method,  at  once  to  encourage  Christian  children  in 
study  of  the  Bible,  and  also  to  spread  abroad  amongst  Hindu 
and  Muhammadan  children  a  knowledge  of  the  Book  of  books. 


MISSIONARY  ORGANISATION  329 

Prizes  are  offered  either  by  individual  friends  of  missions  or  by 
congregations  or  societies  in  the  homeland ;  there  are  also 
available  certain  foundations,  the  interest  on  which  is  regularly 
set  aside  for  this  purpose.  The  best  known  and  most  bene- 
volent of  such  foundations  is  that  of  Judge  Peter  Cator  of 
Madras,  who  in  1862  left  a  large  sum  to  the  Church  Missionary 
Society,  the  interest  on  which  brings  in,  on  an  average,  ;^50  per 
annum.  The  greater  part  of  this,  though  not  necessarily  all  of 
it,  has  to  be  used  in  awarding  prizes  to  those  most  proficient  in 
Bible  knowledge.  These  written  competitions  are  always  a 
great  event  in  South  Indian  Sunday-school  circles. 


6.  Women's  Work  for  Women 

The  conception  of  the  position  of  the  weaker  sex  which  has 
been  deeply  rooted  in  the  Indian  mind  for  centuries  past,  and 
the  customs  which  are  the  logical  and  inevitable  outcome  of 
that  conception,  prohibit  the  women  and  maidens  of  India 
receiving  instruction  from  any  male  teachers  other  than  their 
nearest  relatives.  Only  women  of  the  lowest  castes  are  exempt 
from  this  prohibition,  more  especially  outcastes  on  the  one  hand, 
and  on  the  other  little  girls  up  to  their  tenth  or  twelfth  year. 
The  farther  one  goes  in  India  from  South  to  North  the  stronger 
and  the  more  insurmountable  does  the  great  barrier  wall 
erected  about  the  weaker  sex  become ;  it  is  strongest  of  all  in 
those  districts  where  the  influence  of  Islam  is  most  universal. 
The  women  of  North  India  are  banished  to  their  zenanas;  it 
has  been  computed  that  of  the  150  million  women  and  girls  of 
India,  40  millions  reside  in  the  zenanas — a  population  greater 
than  that  of  Prussia.  These  zenanas  are  inaccessible  to  mission- 
aries and  native  preachers  all  over  India,  and  in  the  strong 
Muhammadan  cities  of  the  North  they  are  hermetically  sealed 
against  all  Christian  influences.  It  is  wholly  impossible  to 
reach  this  great  and  influential  section  of  the  population  by 
means  of  vernacular  preaching. 

It  is  precisely  the  womanhood  of  India,  however,  which  has 
been,  as  is  so  often  the  case  in  other  parts  of  the  world,  the 
protectress  and  zealous  adherent  of  traditional  heathenism. 
Hundreds  of  times  when  missionaries  have  thought  they  have 
made  a  lasting  impression  on  promising  young  life,  zenana 
influences  have  swiftly  and  completely  erased  it.  These 
"  borderers "  have  not  enough  strength  of  purpose  to  resist 
the  incontrollable  but  mighty  counter-influences  set  in 
motion  by  their  wives,  their  mothers,  and  their  grand- 
mothers. 


3  30  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

On  the  other  hand,  the  desolate  plight  of  Indian  womanhood 
called  forth  at  an  early  stage  the  sympathy  of  supporters  of 
missions  and  philanthropists  alike.  The  fight  against  the 
abomination  of  the  suttee  was  one  of  the  first  of  the  great 
humanitarian  movements  set  in  motion  by  the  missionaries. 
Child-marriages  and  the  enforced  celibacy  of  widows  are  a 
twofold  scourge,  against  which  not  only  missionaries  but  also 
many  of  the  most  intelligent  natives  have  striven  for  a  century 
past  with  little  success.  According  to  Indian  custom,  the 
betrothal  between  those  whom  it  is  proposed  to  make  man 
and  wife  must  take  place  as  early  as  possible,  and  in  no  case 
later  than  at  the  twelfth  year  of  their  age ;  particularly  are  girls 
of  high  caste,  and  especially  Brahman  girls,  supposed  to  be 
under  a  curse  if  they  are  not  betrothed  before  arriving  at  the 
age  of  twelve.  According  to  the  Census  of  1901,  13  girls  of 
every  looo  are  married  below  the  age  of  five,  102  between  the 
ages  of  five  and  ten,  and  423  between  ten  and  fifteen.  Un- 
fortunately, this  betrothal  is  binding  on  the  girl  under  all 
circumstances ;  i.e.,  should  the  little  bridegroom  die,  she  is  a 
widow.  How  awful  is  the  lot  of  the  widows  of  India  many 
descriptions  have  endeavoured  to  portray,  notably  those  of 
Pandita  Ramabai,  who  herself  suffered  in  this  way.  According 
to  the  Census  of  1901,  there  were  1064  widows  under  one  year 
old,  1 2 17  between  the  ages  of  one  and  two,  2271  between  two 
and  three,  4513  between  three  and  four,  10,422  between  four  and 
five  ;  that  is,  19,487  under  five  years  of  age.  The  Census  further 
gives  95,798  between  five  and  ten  years  of  age,  and  275,862 
between  ten  and  fifteen.  A  second  marriage  is  in  most  cases 
impossible.^ 

^  Even  in  the  description  of  great  and  notorious  evils  we  must  be  on  our  guard 
against  exaggeration.  Such  should  be  the  case  when  we  speak  of  child-marriages 
and  of  the  prohibition  of  the  marriage  of  widows.  Child-marriages  are  by  no  means 
equally  prevalent  all  over  India,  and  still  less  in  all  castes.  Between  the  ages  of  one 
and  ten  only  3  per  1000  are  married  in  Burma,  Coorg,  Cochin,  and  Travancore  ;  in 
the  Mysore,  10  per  1000  ;  in  Assam,  18  ;  in  Orissa,  21  ;  in  Madras,  27  ;  in  the  Punjab, 
29  ;  in  Kashmir,  the  Central  Provinces,  Rajputana,  and  the  United  Provinces,  between 
46  and  61  ;  and  in  Bengal,  Chota  Nagpur,  and  Bombay,  between  76  and  83  per  lOOO. 
(Jnly  in  Hyderabad  and  Baroda  does  the  number  mount  to  11  per  cent.,  in 
Birar  to  17  per  cent.,  and  in  Bihar  to  18  per  cent.  ;  i.e.,  nearly  one-fifth  of 
all  girls  under  ten  years  of  age.  Only  in  Bihar  is  there  a  district  in  which 
nearly  42  per  cent,  of  all  girls  under  ten  years  of  age  are  married.  And  only  from 
Bengal  do  we  hear  of  frequent  marriages  being  actually  consummated  before  the  girl- 
wives  arrive  at  an  age  of  puberty,  with  all  their  fatal  consequences  to  the  poor 
children.  It  is,  moreover,  by  no  means  the  case,  as  is  frequently  supposed,  that 
the  Brahmans  because  of  religious  superstition  are  the  chief  offenders  in  bringing 
about  these  child-marriages  ;  the  lower  castes  and  the  forest  tribes  are  far  more  given 
to  this  usage  than  the  Brahmans.  Of  every  1000  girls  married  under  the  age  of 
twelve  in  Bengal,  191  are  the  children  of  Brahmans,  362  of  the  Ahirs  and  Goalas 
(shepherds),  208  of  the  Chamars  (leather-workers),  323  of  other  low  castes  such  as  the 
Tantis  and  Tatwas,  and  397  of  the  Telis.  Nor  is  it  by  any  means  a  universal  custom 
for  widows   to  be  prohibited   from  remarriage.      Certainly  in    Bengal   we  find  the 


MISSIONARY   ORGANISATION  331 

We  can  easily  understand,  therefore,  that  the  missionaries 
were  soon  forced  to  consider  how  they  could  bring  the  gospel 
to  the  women  of  India.  If  men  cannot  do  this,  it  was  urged, 
here  is  an  immense  field  opened  to  women  workers.  And  in 
view  of  the  awful  intellectual  sterility  in  the  midst  of  which  the 
inhabitants  of  the  zenanas  pass  their  lives,  the  fitting  avenue 
of  approach  seemed  to  be  that  of  the  school ;  in  some  way  to 
provide  them  with  mental  stimulus,  to  kindle  new  thoughts 
within  their  neglected  and  desolate  hearts,  to  awaken  them 
from  their  century-long  sleep,  to  reveal  to  them  the  busy  world 
beyond  the  zenana  walls  with  all  its  ideals  and  all  its  strifes — 
this  seemed  to  be  a  work  as  full  of  charm  as  it  was  meritorious. 
But  there  were  overwhelming  obstacles  in  the  way  of  such 
efforts.  In  the  first  place,  there  is  the  old  and  deeply  rooted 
belief  that  women  neither  can  learn  nor  ought  to  learn.  Even 
to  read  the  sacred  books  in  the  hearing  of  a  woman  is  sternly 
forbidden  in  the  Shastras ;  if  her  eyes  but  rest  on  the  holy 
books  for  one  moment,  or  her  hand  touch  their  pages,  they 
thereby  become  unclean.  Men  looked  upon  women  as  scarcely 
above  the  level  of  the  brute  creation,  and  women  had  grown 
accustomed  to  consider  this  verdict  the  right  one ;  they  did 
not  know  that  they  had  understanding  and  could  learn.  And 
far  worse  still,  the  only  females  who  had  from  time  immemorial 
learnt  to  read  and  write,  and  even  at  times  to  make  verses, 
'were  the  Nautch  girls ;  and  because  they  alone  possessed  the 
privilege  of  learning,  learning  had  fallen  into  great  disrepute 
for  all  other  women  in  the  country.  A__woman  compromised 
herself  and  became  an  object  of  the  gravest  suspicion  when 
she  began  to  learn  anything !  A  prejudice  so  deeply  rooted 
as  this  is  not  removed  in  a  moment ;  endless  patience  was 
necessary  to  undermine  it  little  by  little,  and  to  bring  about  a 
change  in  public  opinion  on  this  point. 

custom  in  almost  every  caste  and  class  of  the  people.  But  in  the  adjacent  provinces 
the  prohibition  only  holds  good  for  the  castes  of  the  Twice  Bom ;  all  other  castes 
there  allow  their  widows  to  marry  as  they  like.  In  the  Punjab  the  prohibition,  just 
like  child-marriage,  is  met  with,  proportionally,  only  seldom,  and  even  then  it  is 
limited  to  the  most  distinguished  families  of  the  higher  castes.  The  great  caste 
group  of  the  Jats,  for  example,  which  consists  of  over  seven  million  souls,  allows  its 
widows  to  remarry  without  let  or  hindrance,  and  only  those  of  the  best  families  do 
not  do  so.  The  literary  war  which  has  been  hotly  waged  against  this  prohibition  by 
the  social  reformers,  especially  by  the  Parsi  Malabari,  the  Bengali  Vidyasagar,  and 
the  Tamil  Ragunalh  Rao  Bahadur  (a  title  of  nobility),  is  rendered  so  difficult  because 
of  the  fact  that,  according  to  a  view  very  widely  held  in  India,  those  castes  which 
allow  their  widows  to  marry  are  somewhat  looked  down  upon  and  lose  some  measure 
of  their  social  standing,  whereas  if  any  caste  desires  to  mount  the  social  ladder  it 
may  often  make  the  first  step  in  this  direction  by  insisting  strongly  upon  the  ob- 
servance of  the  prohibition.  Hence  we  have  the  frequent  spectacle  of  a  new  caste 
cutting  itself  loose  from  some  old  caste  group,  and  by  strongly  prohibiting  the  re- 
marriage of  widows  obtaining  social  status  and  caste  rank. 


332  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

We  have  already  seen  that  only  one  woman  in  144,  or  07 
per  cent.,  can  read  and  write  as  against  10  per  cent,  of  the 
sterner  sex.  According  to  the  Census  of  1881,  there  were 
only  21,590  of  the  21,195,313  women  in  the  United  Provinces 
{i.e.  O'l  per  cent.)  who  could  at  that  time  read  and  write. 
According  to  the  Census  of  1901,  4*5  per  cent,  of  the  women  can 
read  in  Burma,  the  land  of  woman's  emancipation;  i"i  per  cent, 
in  the  Madras  Presidency,  with  its  numerous  and  compact 
Christian  churches  ;  0*5  per  cent,  in  eager  and  talented  Bengal ; 
and  only  0*3  per  cent,  in  the  Punjab  and  most  of  the  Protected 
States.  The  prejudice  against  education  for  women  is  so  great 
that  the  Census  officials  for  1901  believe  that  the  number  of 
women  able  to  read  was  intentionally  kept  secret,  because  the 
disclosure  of  such  a  fact  would  have  been  a  disgrace. 

A  second  hindrance  very  difficult  to  surmount  is  that  of  the 
child-betrothals  and  child-marriages.  Only  in  the  last  decade 
of  the  nineteenth  century  was  a  law  promulgated,  by  which  the 
statutory  age  at  which  a  girl  may  enter  into  actual  marital 
relations  was  raised  from  ten  to  twelve  (!),  and  Hindu  society 
opposed  this  law  by  all  means  in  its  power,  and  chose  to  regard 
it  as  an  attack  upon  its  religion  1  As  the  age  at  which  marriage 
is  consummated  is  generally  the  time  of  final  relegation  to  the 
seclusion  of  the  zenana,  the  only  opportunity  for  school-life  and 
school-influence  is  restricted  to  the  period  between  tenderest 
childhood  and  the  tenth  or,  at  the  very  outside,  the  twelfth 
year. 

In  the  following  account  it  is  our  purpose  to  describe  how 
during  the  course  of  the  nineteenth  century  that  great  branch  of 
labour  which  is  so  characteristic  of  modern  missionary  enterprise 
in  India,  women's  work  for  women,  has  developed.  We  can 
only  mention  in  passing  the  faithful  and  self-sacrificing  efforts 
which  since  the  dawn  of  Protestant  missions  have  been,  and 
still  are,  made  by  the  wives  and  daughters  of  missionaries. 
Their  work  has  for  the  most  part  been  carried  on  in  secret, 
and  little  of  it  has  found  its  way  into  missionary  reports.  As 
the  hot  Indian  climate  almost  entirely  debars  European  women 
from  taking  that  part  in  the  duties  of  the  kitchen,  garden,  and 
household  generally  which  they  are  accustomed  to  perform  in 
the  homeland,  and  as  these  are  claimed  as  the  lawful  domain 
of  the  inefficient,  untrustworthy,  but  necessarily  numerous  and 
cheap  staff  of  Indian  servants,  missionaries' wives  and  daughters 
have  as  a  general  rule  had  abundance  of  time  for  actual  missionary 
work,  and  it  would  form  a  noble  and  beautiful  chapter  in  the 
history  of  Indian  missions  were  we  only  able  to  collate  all  they 
have  silently  and  unassumingly  accomplished.  Not  only  the 
German     missionary    societies,     but     also    for    example    the 


MISSIONARY  ORGANISATION  333 

greatest  and  best  organised  of  the  English  societies,  the 
Church  Missionary  Society,  refrained  on  principle  from  sending 
out  women  workers  until  about  the  middle  of  the  eighties, 
because  the  wives,  widows,  and  daughters  of  the  missionaries 
were  performing  such  a  meritorious  and  extensive  work 
amongst  the  women  of  India. 


(a)  Its  Origin  {down  to  1854) 

It  is  scarcely  necessary  for  us  here  to  mention  the  fact  that 
even  in  the  eighteenth  century  the  veterans  of  the  Danish 
Mission  had  taught  young  girls  in  their  schools,  and  that  in 
more  recent  times  the  same  duty  had  everywhere  pressed  with 
irresistible  force  upon  the  modern  English  missionary  societies. 
An  effort  was  made  at  the  same  time  in  many  places  to  exercise 
some  oversight  of  the  greatly  neglected  Eurasian  children  and 
to  get  them  to  come  to  school  with  the  children  of  the  native 
Christians.  Most  of  these  schools  were  attended  by  both  boys 
and  girls. 

The  first  method  adopted  for  bringing  heathen  girls  under 
Christian  influences  was  the  erection  of  orphanages  and  asylums, 
and  particularly  in  North  Indian  missions  did  these  orphanages 
acquire  a  distinct  importance  of  their  own  during  the  nineteenth 
century.  The  girls  taken  into  the  orphanages  were  almost 
without  exception  baptized  immediately  after  their  entrance. 
They  then  received  a  Christian  training  which  inevitably, 
thanks  to  the  constant  supervision  of  the  missionaries,  took 
on  a  certain  foreign  complexion.  When  they  went  back  to  their 
ordinary  life,  they  found  themselves  completely  out  of  sym- 
pathy with  the  manner  of  life,  the  way  of  thinking,  and  the 
point  of  view  of  their  heathen  neighbours  ;  they  were  no  longer 
part  and  parcel  of  their  own  people.  That  is  the  reason  why 
the  plan  generally  adopted  in  the  early  years  of  the  nineteenth 
century  of  gathering  native  girls  into  boarding  schools,  where 
they  received  gratis  board,  lodging,  teaching,  clothing,  and 
school-books,  has  not  been  persevered  with.  In  attempting  to 
board  the  girls,  one  ran  aground  on  the  reef  of  caste  prejudice, 
and  if  board  were  dispensed  with,  no  true  home  -  life  was 
possible.  The  plan  was  only  practicable  when  the  girls 
broke  their  caste  rules — but  they  then  became  outcastes,  and 
baptism  was  their  sole  hope  of  safety.  Only  during  the 
last  thirty  years  of  the  century  have  efforts  been  made 
under  greatly  modified  conditions  again  to  tread  this  very 
thorny  path. 

Both  the  London  Missionary  Society  and  the  Baptist 
Missionary  Society  were  early  in  the  field  in  their  attempts 


3  34  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

to  gather  the  young  together  in  very  modest  schools,  the  so- 
called  "bazaar  schools."  In  1829  the  Rev.  Robert  May  of  the 
London  Missionary  Society  had  3500  scholars  in  twenty-nine 
schools  built  in  and  around  Chinsurah  ;  a  start  was  also  made 
with  a  "  circle  of  schools  "  in  Madras.  These  schools,  although 
principally  attended  by  boys,  made  an  effort  to  attract  a  few 
girls.  Both  the  Chinsurah  missionary  and  his  colleague  at 
Madras  declared  it  to  be  impossible  at  that  time  to  form  a 
school  exclusively  for  girls ;  and  yet  the  Serampore  mission- 
aries, particularly  the  energetic  Hannah  Marshman,  who 
expended  much  strength  on  the  venture,  had  already 
temporarily  succeeded  in  doing  this  at  Calcutta ;  her  little 
school  for  girls  comprised  forty  children,  but  it  was  found  im- 
possible to  continue  it.  Somewhat  more  successful  was  Mrs. 
Wilson,  the  self-sacrificing  wife  of  the  great  Scotch  missionary, 
John  Wilson  of  Bombay.  She  devoted  herself  to  this  kind  of 
work  from  the  moment  she  first  landed  in  India  in  1829,  and  in 
a  few  years'  time  she  had  opened  six  schools,  at  which  120 
girls  attended.  It  was  in  her  favour  that  the  Parsis,  who  are 
there  most  influential,  know  no  caste,  and  the  Marathas  enjoy 
much  greater  freedom  in  social  intercourse  than  the  Bengalis. 
Wilson's  second  wife  also  took  up  this  work  with  great 
enthusiasm,  and  founded  a  home  for  poor  and  abandoned 
female  children. 

In  the  meantime  a  Society  called  the  "  Calcutta  Female 
Juvenile  Society  for  the  Education  of  Native  Females "  had 
been  formed  at  Calcutta  in  April  1819,  at  the  instigation  of 
Mrs.  Marshman.  Its  chief  object  was  the  erection  of  schools 
for  girls.  In  1820  it  started  with  one  school  and  eight  children, 
but  in  1824  it  had  increased  this  to  six  schools  with  160  girls. 
A  more  successful  undertaking,  the  "  Calcutta  School  Society," 
was  inaugurated  in  September  of  the  same  year  (1819);  its 
raison  d'etre,  however,  was  the  founding  of  schools  of  all  kinds 
for  the  lower  classes.  It  was  calculated  that  there  were  then  in 
the  capital  and  its  immediate  vicinity  some  750,000  inhabitants, 
and  that  out  of  all  this  number  there  were  only  4180  scholars 
receiving  any  education ;  of  these  scarcely  one  was  a  girl ! 
According  to  one  calculation,  which  there  is,  however,  no  means 
of  checking,  there  were  at  that  time  only  400  girls  able  to  read 
in  the  whole  of  India. 

The  need  for  elementaiy  schools  was  therefore  a  crying  one. 
"  The  British  and  Foreign  School  Society,"  founded  by  Jos. 
Lancaster  in  London,  was  approached,  and  at  the  earnest 
solicitation  of  this  Society  Miss  Cooke  was  prevailed  upon  to 
go  out  to  India  in  1821,  and  to  place  her  services  at  the  disposal 
of  the  Calcutta  School   Society.     However,   one-third   of  the 


MISSIONARY  ORGANISATION  335 

members  of  the  Committee  of  this  Society  were  Hindu  gentlemen, 
and  they  raised  such  spirited  opposition  to  the  engagement  of  a 
schoolmistress  solely  to  establish  girls'  schools  that  the  plan 
was  abandoned.  It  should  be  noticed  that  the  Society  was 
neutral  on  matters  of  religion,  and  had  no  wish  to  attempt  any 
Christian  propaganda.  Miss  Cooke  therefore  took  service  under 
the  Calcutta  Committee  of  the  Church  Missionary  Society,  and 
very  soon  her  enthusiasm  led  her  to  open  a  school  for  girls. 
She  was  working  at  that  time  at  her  Bengali  studies,  and, 
having  occasion  to  pay  a  visit  to  a  boys'  school,  she  found  on 
the  threshold  a  little  girl  who  had  been  begging  for  months  to 
be  allowed  to  learn  with  the  boys,  but  in  vain.  Such  a  desire 
for  knowledge  touched  her  heart,  and  although  she  knew  very 
little  Bengali,  she  began  her  school  for  girls  on  the  following 
day  with  fifteen  children.  The  numbers  grew :  at  the  end  of 
the  year  1822  she  had  three  schools  with  between  50  and  60 
girls  ;  in  1824,  twenty-two  schools  with  300  to  400  girls  ;  and  in 
1826,  as  many  as  thirty  schools  with  600  female  scholars. 
She  and  her  friends  succeeded  in  interesting  the  Governor- 
General  and  his  wife  in  her  work,  and  under  their  patronage  a 
"  Ladies'  Society  for  Female  Native  Education  in  Calcutta  and 
the  Vicinity "  was  founded  in  1824.  Miss  Cooke  now  worked 
wholly  for  this  Society  ;  in  1823  she  had  married  the  Rev.  Isaac 
Wilson  (C.M.S.),  but  after  his  death  in  1828  she  continued  her 
work  with  as  great  enthusiasm  as  ever.  Encouraged  by  its 
early  successes,  in  1828  the  new  Society  set  about  the  erection 
of  premises  of  its  own,  to  serve  as  a  residence  for  the  European 
lady  missionary  and  her  native  staff  (mostly  Eurasians),  as  a 
modest  training  college  for  teachers  and  as  a  practising  school. 
The  Church  Missionary  Society  contributed  iJ"500  towards 
the  cost  of  the  building,  and  matter  for  special  congratulation 
was  the  gift  of  over  ;^iooo  from  a  distinguished  and  intelligent 
Hindu,  Rajah  Badinath  Roy.  Mrs.  Wilson  presided  over  the 
institution  until  1836;  she  then  retired  from  the  management, 
and  founded  a  Girls'  Orphanage  at  Agarpara,  near  Calcutta. 
Unfortunately,  in  1842  she  became  a  Darbyite,  and  from  that 
time  withdrew  from  all  missionary  activity.^ 

The  prosperity  of  Mrs.  Wilson's  school,  the  growing  acquaint- 
ance and  sympathy  with  the  downtrodden  condition  of  Indian 
women,  and  the  powerful  advocacy  of  individual  missionaries 

^  Mrs.  Cooke-Wilson  is  described  by  those  intimately  acquainted  with  her  as 
being  an  exceptional  woman,  of  real  spiritual  power  and  gifts.  "Her  wisdom  and 
gentle  tact,  her  peaceful  and  yet  cordial  disposition,  her  deep  and  ever  joyous  piety, 
her  experience  .  .  .  together  with  a  remarkable  practical  ability  to  turn  to  advantage 
all  the  gifts  of  her  helpers  and  every  opportunity  that  presented  itself,  won  for  her  a 
measure  of  affection  and  esteem  such  as  is  only  seldom  enjoyed"  (Weitbrecht, 
FrauenmissioH  in  /ndien,  p,  S3). 


3  36  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

such  as  the  Rev.  Daniel  Abeel  of  America,  all  contributed  to  the 
foundation  in  London,  on  June  4th,  1834,  of  a  Society  whose 
object  was  the  carrying  on  of  missionary  labour  among  the 
women  of  India;  this  Society  soon  assumed  the  name  of 
"  Society  for  Promoting  Female  Education  in  the  East," 

In  1838  Captain  Jameson  founded  in  Scotland  the  "  Scottish 
Ladies'  Association  for  the  Advancement  of  Female  Education 
in  India."  This  Society,  which  was  largely  animated  by  Duff's 
ideals,  split  up  at  the  Disruption  in  1843  into  the  two  Women's 
Missionary  Societies,  belonging  to  the  Established  Church  and 
to  the  Free  Church.  On  November  loth,  1842,  Frau  Eickhorn, 
wife  of  the  statesman,  founded  at  Berlin,  with  the  assistance  of  a 
Committee  of  ten  other  ladies,  the  "  Frauen-Verein  fur  christliche 
Bildung  des  weiblichen  Geschlechts  im  Morgenlande"^  (Ladies' 
Society  for  the  Christian  Education  of  Females  in  the 
East),  These  were  the  first  societies  by  which  a  helping 
hand  was  extended  by  the  women  of  Europe  to  their  sisters  in 
the  East. 

Yet,  in  spite  of  all  these  well-meant  and  earnest  efforts,  this 
kind  of  work  was  still  only  in  its  infancy  in  India,  As  late  as 
1840,  Mrs.  Wilson,  who  was  by  far  the  person  best  qualified  to 
speak  on  the  subject,  declared  that  as  far  as  she  knew  only  5(X) 
girls  were  attending  school  in  Bengal,  half  of  whom  were  in  her 
own  schools.  The  conditions  under  which  such  schools  worked 
have  been  set  forth  by  Storrow  {Our  Indian  Sisters, 
pp,  192-194),  and  his  description  is  confirmed  by  all  those  who 
were  personally  acquainted  with  the  circumstances  of  the  time : 
"  The  superstition  was  general  that  educated  women  made 
disobedient  wives,  and  that  the  husbands  of  girls  who  could  read 
were  most  liable  to  die.  Education,  it  was  everywhere  assumed, 
would  cause  girls  to  be  more  conceited  and  unmanageable. 
Since  purdah  ladies  were  untaught,  what  presumption  was  it  for 
the  poor  and  low-caste  to  learn  to  read  and  write.  Nothing  but 
evil  and  danger  could  spring  out  of  such  an  unheard-of  revolu- 
tion. Think  of  the  trouble  and  danger  it  would  cause !  How 
could  girls,  however  low  in  caste  and  poor,  go  to  school 
unwatched  and  untended  ?  It  would  interfere  with  their  meals, 
their  devotions,  their  freedom,  and  endanger  their  caste  if  not 
their  lives.  Such  were  the  difficulties  suggested  by  ignorant 
and  superstitious  parents,  in  whose  wide  circle  of  relationship  no 
reader  probably  could  be  discovered  for  generations.  To  meet 
these  objections,  many  expedients   were  adopted,     A  woman 

^  About  the  same  time  similar  societies  were  founded  at  Geneva,  Basle,  and 
Strasburg,  especially  under  the  influence  of  a  stirring  "  call  to  arms"  by  W.  Hoffmann, 
at  that  time  Inspector  of  the  Basle  Missionary  Society  ;  they  never  attained,  however, 
any  position  of  great  independent  usefulness. 


MISSIONARY  ORGANISATION  337 

was  sent  round  to  conduct  the  girls  to  school  and  home  again 
who  was  stimulated  to  zeal  by  payment  for  as  many  as  were 
brought.  Often  the  scholars  were  paid  for  attendance.  Usually 
food  and  sweetmeats  were  provided  for  them,  and  periodically 
they  received,  even  for  meagre  attendance,  gifts  of  money  or 
presents  of  cloth.  Each  sum  was  small,  but  the  aggregate 
amount  was  considerable.  The  results  were  far  from  encourag- 
ing. The  attendance  was  most  irregular.  It  ceased  altogether 
for  trivial  or  imaginary  causes.  A  desire  to  learn  was  seldom 
seen  on  the  part  of  scholars  or  parents,  but  greed  and  suspicion 
were  ever  on  the  alert  to  have  discipline  and  rule  relaxed  or  to 
obtain  additional  gifts.  Now  and  then  the  school  would  be 
entirely  deserted  through  some  foolish  or  evil  report.  An 
attendance  of  twenty-five  girls  was  regarded  as  encouraging. 
They  almost  always  came  from  the  lowest  castes  and  classes, 
and  left  before  they  were  eleven  years  of  age,  to  be  married, 
or  on  some  trivial  pretence  or  other.  Thus,  through  their 
early  age,  the  superficiality  of  knowledge,  and  the  dense 
ignorance  of  their  surroundings,  they  retained  little  of  what 
they  had  learned,  which  usually  disappeared  as  raindrops  in 
the  rushing  river." 


(b)  The  Change  in  Public  Opinion  (i  854-1 880) 

Dr.  Duff  was  quite  right  in  saying  that  this  sad  state  of 
things  would  only  be  remedied  when  the  young  men  of  India 
had  become  so  far  familiar  with  Western  culture  as  to  be  able 
no  longer  to  tolerate  wives  who  were  wholly  illiterate.  Only  as 
a  new  conception  of  the  nature  and  position  of  woman  found 
its  way  into  the  highest  strata  of  the  male  population  of  the 
country  could  missionaries  enter  the  closed  doors  of  the  zenanas. 
About  the  middle  of  the  century  the  signs  of  the  dawning  of  a 
new  epoch  were  multiplied.  One  of  the  first  was  the  foundation 
of  a  society  of  whose  absolutely  private  sittings  in  Calcutta  Duff 
only  heard  quite  accidentally;^  it  was  "a  secret  society  among 
the  educated  Hindus  for  privately  instructing  their  young 
daughters  and  other  female  relatives."  In  these  circles  one  of 
the  most  highly  respected  personages  was  the  Bengali  clergyman, 
Krishna  Mohan  Banerjea,  and  he  used  his  entire  influence  in 
endeavouring  to  awaken  general  interest  in  the  instruction  of 
the  daughters  of  well-educated  families.  It  was  also  helpful 
that  whereas  the  British  Government  had  hitherto  opposed 
all  projects  for  the  education  of  women.  Lord  Dalhousie,  the 
Governor-General  of  the  day,  favoured  it  then,  and  in  1849,  "on 
his  own  responsibility,"  he  expressed  the  opinion  that  "  the 
^  G.  Smith,  Life  of  A.  Duff,  p.  194. 
22 


338  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

Government  ought  to  accord  substantial  and  cordial  support  to 
the  cause  of  female  education."  And  his  exact  meaning  was 
made  evident  that  same  year  when  the  President  of  the  Council 
for  Educational  Affairs,  Drinkwater  Bethune,  built  in  Calcutta 
at  his  own  expense  a  "  Native  Female  School,"  an  excellent 
girls'  school  for  children  belonging  to  the  very  best  families. 
Although  this  school  was  only  poorly  attended  at  first  and  met 
with  but  little  success,  it  was  still  an  attempt  well  worthy  of 
being  recorded.  Unfortunately,  this  upper-class  school  excluded 
all  religious  instruction  as  a  matter  of  principle.  It  has  been 
in  the  main  the  training  ground  for  families  belonging  to  the 
reform  movements  of  Bengal,  especially  the  Brahmo  Samaj, 
and  to  it  is  the  credit  due  that  very  often  the  daughters  of 
such  families  have  received  a  splendidly  liberal  education.  The 
school  attached  to  Bethune  College  is  even  to-day  reckoned  as 
the  premier  girls'  school  in  Calcutta. 

Of  immeasurably  greater  importance,  however,  was  a  new 
method  adopted  by  the  missionaries  about  this  time.  In  the 
Calcutta  Christian  Observer  there  appeared  an  article  in  1840 
written  by  Dr.  Thos.  Smith,  a  Scotch  missionary  and  one  of 
Dr.  Duffs  younger  colleagues,  in  which  he  contended  that  the 
only  way  to  reach  the  women  of  India  was  personally  to  seek 
them  out  in  the  zenanas  and  there  to  give  them  Christian 
instruction  and  every  other  possible  kind  of  mental  stimulus. 
The  article  provoked  much  shaking  of  heads  and  many  spirited 
rejoinders.  It  was  not  until  1 854,  fifteen  years  later,  that  the  Scotch 
missionary  John  Fordyce  and  his  gifted  wife  (they  had  only 
come  out  in  1853)  dared  to  translate  Smith's  theory  into  fact.^ 
For  this  purpose  he  enlisted  the  help  of  a  clever  Eurasian  lady. 
Miss  Toogood.  The  first  house  opened  to  him  was  that  of  Babu 
Kumar  Tagore,  a  scion  of  the  distinguished  and  wealthy  house 
of  the  Tagores,  though  reckoning  according  to  caste  he  only 
belonged  to  the  inferior  branch  of  the  family.  As  Miss  Toogood 
and  a  Bible  woman  named  Rebecca  left  the  house  to  pay  their 
first  visit,  Fordyce  remarked  to  his  wife,  "  This  is  the  beginning  of 
a  new  era  for  the  daughters  of  India."  He  was  right;  it  was 
the  beginning  of  Zenana  Missions,  which  are  now,  after  half  a 
century  has  rolled  by,  one  of  the  most  prosperous  and  most 
cultivated  departments  of  Indian  missionary  service.     Soon    a 

^As  early  as  1842  the  Society  for  the  Promotion  of  Female  Education  had  sent 
out  a  lady  missionary  to  the  Parsi  women  of  Bombay.  But  this  was  a  matter  of  less 
importance,  because  there  is  no  zenana  system  among  the  Parsis,  and  thus  the 
peculiar  difiiculties  connected  with  women's  life  in  India  are  only  met  with  to  a 
small  extent.  Isolated  examples  of  attempted  zenana  work  also  occurred  in  several 
other  places,  e.g.  in  the  house  of  the  intelligent  Jay  Narain  Ghosal,  who  presented 
the  C.M.S.  at  Benares  with  the  site  and  endowment  fund  for  the  Jay  Narain  College, 
in  that  of  the  enlightened  Rajah,  Badinath  Roy,  and  elsewhere. 


MISSIONARY  ORGANISATION  339 

number  of  other  houses  in  Calcutta  were  opened  to  the  visits  of 
this  new  Order,  and  a  large  number  of  missionaries'  wives  at 
once  devoted  themselves  with  the  utmost  enthusiasm  to  the 
work.  By  far  the  most  famous  of  these  was  Mrs.  Mullens, 
the  wife  of  a  missionary  of  the  L.M.S.  and  a  daughter  of  the 
famous  preacher  Lacroix.  Her  example  was  quickly  followed 
in  other  towns  and  provinces  :  at  Benares  zenana  visiting  was 
first  undertaken  by  Mrs.  Leupolt  ^  and  Mrs.  Tracey ;  in  Eastern 
Bengal  it  was  commenced  by  Mrs.  Sale;  and  at  Gorakhpur  in 
the  United  Provinces  by  Miss  Bird. 

It  was  a  long  time  before  there  was  any  desire  in  India,  even 
in  the  most  intimate  missionary  circles,  for  unmarried  women 
missionaries  to  be  sent  out.  In  the  early  thirties,  so  devoted 
and  zealous  a  bishop  as  Daniel  Wilson  answered  the  question 
as  to  whether  he  would  like  any  such  missionaries  to  be  sent  out 
in  the  following  terms :  "  No !  Women  can't  do  it.  Both  on 
principle  and  from  my  experience  in  Indian  missionary  life,  I 
should  oppose  single  women  being  sent  out  to  such  a  far-off 
land  ;  it  is  almost  an  absolute  certainty  that  they  would  get 
married  within  a  month  of  their  arrival "  (Stock,  History  of 
CMS.  i.  p.  316).^  As  late  as  the  middle  of  the  century  the 
number  of  unmarried  women  missionaries — apart  from  the 
members  of  the  families  of  missionaries  residing  in  the  country 
— was  extremely  small  and  tended  to  grow  less  and  less.  It 
was  only  when  zenana  missions  threw  open  a  wide  door  for 
their  labours  that  their  number  increased  with  astonishing 
rapidity.  The  time  came  when  nearly  every  great  English  and 
American  missionary  society  had  a  women's  auxiliary  with  more 
or  less  independent  power  of  action,  and  almost  invariably  these 
newly  established  auxiliary  societies  found  their  first  and  most 
important  field  in  the  zenanas  of  India.  We  will  content 
ourselves  here  with  enumerating  the  most  important : — 

Founded  in 
Belonging  to  the  S.P.G.  :  the  Women's  Mission  Association  in  con- 
nection with  the  S.  P.  G.      .  .  .  .1866 
Do.         do.    B.M.S.  :  the  Baptist  Zenana  Mission              .  .       1867 
Do.         do.     L.M.S.  :  Ladies' Committee  of  the  L.M.S.   .  .       1875  ' 
Do.         do.    W.M.M.S.  :  Women's  Auxiliary  of  the  W.M. M.S.  .        1858 


^  Who  as  Miss  Jones  had  been  the  first  representative  to  India  of  the  Society  for 
the  Promotion  of  Female  Education  (1836). 

'  The  good  bishop  is  certainly  in  the  right :  the  marriage  of  lady  missionaries  has 
always  been  one  of  the  difficulties  of  female  missionary  work.  But,  however  disturb- 
ing the  enforced  and  frequent  changes  in  the  staff  may  be  owing  to  this  cause,  there 
is  the  great  counterbalancing  advantage  that  in  this  way  a  long  succession  of 
brilliantly  gifted  wives  drawn  from  the  most  cultured  society  in  the  homeland  has 
been  found  for  the  missionaries. 

^  Only  until  1890. 


340  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

In  North  America: — 

Founded  in 
Belonging  lo  the  American  Board  :  Women's  Board  for  Missions  (for 

the  Interior,  iS68  ;  for  the  Pacific,  1873)  •  •        '^^S 

Do.  do.  American  ]5aptist  Missionary  Union :  Women's 
Baptist  Foreign  Mission  Society  (for  the 
West,  1S71  ;  for  Cahfornia,  1875;  of  Oregon, 
1878)  ......        1S71 

Do.  do.  Methodist  Episcopal  Missionary  Society  :  Women's 
Foreign  Mission  Society  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church  .....        1S69 

Do.  do.  Presbyterian  Church  North:  Women's  Foreign  Mis- 
sion Society  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  (Norlh- 
West,  1870;  New  York,  1S70 ;  North  New 
York,  1872  ;  Occidental,  1873  5  South- West, 
1877  ;  Pacific,  1888)  ....        1870 

Not  content,  however,  with  these  women's  auxiliary 
societies  which  were  formed  with  such  remarkable  celerity  in 
every  direction,  special  zenana  missionary  societies  sprang  up 
into  existence  in  many  places.  In  consequence  of  the  pressing 
necessity  in  Calcutta  for  zenana  missionaries  and  the  staff  of 
the  girls'  schools  obtaining  at  least  a  measure  of  training,  a  new 
departure  was  made  in  1852  by  the  establishment  of  a  teachers' 
seminary,  the  *'  Normal  School  for  the  Training  of  Christian 
Female  Teachers,"  and  a  society  thus  entitled  was  formed.  This 
was  united  as  early  as  1857  with  the  already  mentioned  educa- 
tional society  under  the  direction  of  Mrs.  Wilson,  and  the  joint 
societies  took  the  name  of  "  Normal,  Central,  and  Branch 
School  Society."  After  some  hesitation  this  was  changed  in  1861 
to  the  "  Indian  Female  Normal  School  and  Instruction  Society," 
which  was  finally  altered  in  1880  to  the  "Zenana  Bible  and 
Medical  Mission,"  under  which  designation  it  is  now  known 
both  in  England  and  in  India.  This  often-metamorphosed 
society  soon  became  the  actual  pioneer  and  porte  luviicre  of 
zenana  missions.  In  1861  it  had  in  twenty-two  zenanas  a  hundred 
and  sixty  women  and  a  hundred  and  fifty  girls  receiving  its  minis- 
trations, and  nearly  all  these  belonged  to  the  higher  castes  of 
the  Brahmans,  the  writers  or  the  physicians.  In  i860  a  new 
American  society  came  to  its  assistance,  the  "  Women's  Union 
Missionary  Society,"  founded  in  New  York  by  Mrs.  Doremus 
on  an  interdenominational  basis.  It  had  the  good  fortune 
to  find  at  the  very  beginning  of  its  career  an  organising  genius 
in  Miss  Britain,  who  unfortunately,  after  organising  the  work 
of  the  Society  marvellously  in  Calcutta  and  neighbourhood, 
quitted  India  for  Japan. 

In  order  rightly  to  appreciate  the  results  of  this  work  down 
to  1881,  we  will  place  all  the  reliable  statistics  to  which  we  have 
access  in  parallel  columns : — 


MISSIONARY  ORGANISATION  341 


I85I. 

I86I. 

I87I. 

1881. 

? 

? 

370 

479 

? 

? 

837 

1,643 

28s 

261 

664 

1,120 

8,919 

12,057 

24,078 

40,897 

? 

1,300 

7,522 

1,997 

9,132 

Women  missionaries  (including  Eurasians) ' 
Native  assistants  .... 
Girls'  schools  .... 

Scholars  at  above  .... 
Zenanas  visited  .... 

Females  receiving  instruction  at  the  same     . 


(c)  Golden  Harvest  {fro^n   1880) 

However  great  the  change  that  had  come  over  women's 
work  in  the  Indian  mission  field  during  the  twenty-five  years 
1854-1880,  scarcely  any  one  can  at  that  time  have  formed  the 
faintest  conception  of  the  enormous  development  this  branch 
of  labour  was  to  undergo  during  the  succeeding  quarter  of 
a  century.  The  development  which  has  taken  place  in  connec- 
tion with  one  missionary  society,  the  greatest  (C.M.S.),  will  serve 
us  as  a  type  for  what  has  happened  all  along  the  line.  For 
a  long  time  this  Society  could  not  (being  in  this  respect 
thoroughly  in  harmony  with  German  views  and  ideals)  come  to 
the  determination  to  employ  in  its  service  unmarried  women 
missionaries — apart  from  the  numerous  missionaries'  widows 
and  daughters,  the  greater  part  of  whom  had  rendered  it  most 
remarkable  assistance.  Whenever  necessary,  it  applied  to  the 
Indian  Female  Normal  School  and  Instruction  Society,  to 
the  Society  for  the  Promotion  of  Female  Education,  or  to  the 
German  "  Morgenlandischer  Frauen-Verein."  The  first  of  these 
societies  worked  in  such  intimate  conjunction  with  the  Church 
Missionary  Society  that  it  was  regarded  almost  as  one  of  its 
own  auxiliaries.  Faithful  to  its  principles  and  in  loyalty  to  this 
Society,  the  Church  Missionary  Society  prior  to  1880  refused 
every  request  to  send  out  women  missionaries  at  its  own 
expense,  with  the  exception  of  one  or  two  rare  cases  where 
special  local  needs  had  to  be  taken  into  consideration.  In 
the  year  1880,  however,  under  the  influence  of  its  President, 
Lady  Kinnaird,  the  Committee  of  the  Indian  Female  Normal 
School  and   Instruction   Society  began  to  develop  a  manifest 

^  During  this  period  a  good  third  of  the  staff  was  composed  of  Eurasians.  Being 
only  half  European,  they  have  the  advantage  of  being  less  susceptible  to  the  burning 
heat  of  the  Indian  summer,  and,  generally,  of  speaking  an  Indian  language  as 
their  mother  tongue.  By  attracting  them  to  and  training  them  for  this  important 
service  for  women,  a  work  of  real  benevolence  was  performed  towards  their  greatly 
neglected  and  despised  race.  Most  of  the  training  colleges  erected  in  India,  especially 
those  in  Calcutta,  were  intended  for  Eurasians.  Nevertheless,  the  experiment  has 
been  none  too  successful  as  far  as  they  were  concerned.  As  a  race  they  are  indolent 
and  deficient  in  character.  The  gulf  which  divides  them  from  the  zenana  women  is 
generally  insuperable — they  are  despised  by  Hindu  society  almost  more  than  by 
Europeans.  They  were  thus  hardly  fit  agents  for  pioneering  so  difficult  and  delicate 
a  work  as  that  of  the  zenana  missions. 


342  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

leaning  towards  union  with  certain  Nonconformist,  more 
especially  Presbyterian,  circles :  a  new  Presbyterian  Secretary 
was  appointed  to  an  office  always  hitherto  occupied  by  an 
Anglican.  This  roused  such  ill  feeling  in  Anglican  circles  that 
the  latter  practically  severed  all  connection  with  their  "  untrust- 
worthy" ally.  This  would  have  been  the  fitting  occasion  for 
the  Church  Missionary  Society  to  have  founded  a  Women's 
Auxiliary  of  its  own.  It  was,  however,  so  far  from  being  ready 
to  do  so,  that  one  of  its  most  respected  Secretaries,  Wright, 
persuaded  those  who  had  broken  their  connection  with  the 
I.F.N.S.  and  I.  Society  to  form  themselves  into  an  independent 
women's  missionary  organisation,  the  "  Church  of  England 
Zenana  Missionary  Society"  (the  C.E.Z.M.S.).  But  circumstances 
proved  stronger  than  all  the  plans  of  the  Church  Missionary 
Society.  In  1887  missionary  enthusiasm  in  female  circles  at 
home,  particularly  in  connection  with  the  Keswick  Conventions, 
became  so  great  that  in  one  year  17  lady  missionaries  offered 
themselves  to  the  Society,  10  of  whom  were  ready  to  go  out  at 
their  own  expense.  As  urgent  requests  were  continually 
coming  in  from  the  mission  field  for  women  missionaries,  the 
Committee  at  length  gave  way.  That  they  were  in  the  right  in 
so  doing  is  proved  by  the  rapid  increase  in  the  numbers  of  their 
women  workers:  between  1887  and  1894  this  Society  alone 
sent  out  214  women  missionaries  ;  by  June  1905  the  number  had 
increased  to  410.  From  time  to  time  it  has  made  attempts  to 
absorb  the  C.E.Z.M.S.,  but  this  Society  has  preferred  to  remain 
independent.  And  the  parent  Society  and  its  Auxiliary  have 
come  to  an  honourable  arrangement  by  which  the  latter  sends 
its  members  almost  exclusively  to  India,  by  far  the  most 
important  mission  field  for  women  missionaries,  whilst  the 
parent  body  supplies  independently  all  vacancies  in  other  fields 
that  may  arise. 

As  at  the  present  time  practically  all  missionary  societies 
carrying  on  any  work  at  all  in  India  send  out  women  mission- 
aries, and  as  many  societies  which  have  no  other  work  there 
(such  as  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  of  North  America) 
participate  at  least  in  zenana  missions,  it  would  be  wearisome 
to  review  in  detail  the  many  different  contingents  of  this  great 
army  of  women  missionaries.  Many  societies  have  quite  a  host 
of  them.  Thus  the  Zenana  Bible  and  Medical  Mission,  the 
old  Indian  Female  Normal  School  and  Instruction  Society, 
maintains  104  women  missionaries  with  53  women  helpers,  a 
native  staff  of  191  women  teachers  and  nurses,  and  84  Bible 
women  ;  in  4375  zenanas  which  it  visits  it  has  2728  pupils  under 
regular  instruction,  3208  more  scholars  in  its  64  day  schools, 
hospitals  or   dispensaries  in   5   towns  with   1892  patients  and 


MISSIONARY  ORGANISATION  343 

nearly  100,000  consultations  per  annum,  and  it  spends  yearly 
on  this  many-sided  activity  over  ;^25,ooo.  (These  were  the 
figures  for  its  jubilee  year,  1902.)  The  Church  of  England 
Zenana  Missionary  Society  has  228  women  missionaries  and 
100  women  helpers,  a  native  staff  of  800  Bible  women,  school- 
mistresses, etc.,  and  spends  about  ^^42,500  yearly.  Some  two- 
thirds  of  its  entire  work  is  carried  on  in  India,  Nearly  all  the 
greater  women's  missionary  societies  have  central  headquarters 
somewhere  in  India,  whence  the  infinitely  varied  work  of  each 
society  is  directed  and  superintended  :  such  are  the  headquarters 
of  the  C.E.Z.  at  Palamcottah,  the  Women's  Mission  Association 
of  the  S.P.G.  at  Delhi,  the  Women's  Auxiliary  of  the  United 
Free  Church  of  Scotland  at  Madras,  etc.  To  get  any  idea  of 
the  diversity  of  the  work  accomplished,  one  must  reside  at  some 
of  these  central  stations  and  study  their  working.  Women's 
work  is  not  spread  equally  over  the  whole  land :  in  Calcutta 
and  the  vicinity  there  are  103  women  missionaries  (as  against 
99  missionaries) ;  6  training  colleges  for  schoolmistresses,  Bible 
women,  etc.  (corresponding  with  6  training  colleges  for  catechists)  ; 
1 1  girls'  boarding-schools,  with  990  scholars  (12  boarding-schools 
for  boys  with  659  scholars);  whilst  in  15,600  regularly  visited 
zenanas  7600  scholars  receive  instruction.  In  the  remaining 
portions  of  Bengal  there  are  46  women  missionaries  as  compared 
with  33  men ;  in  the  United  Provinces  22  women  missionaries 
against  98  men;  and  in  the  Punjab  162  women  as  against  95 
men.  In  the  Madras  Presidency  there  are  248  women  mission- 
aries as  against  301  males.  More  and  more  does  the  number  of 
women  missionaries  in  each  district  approximate  nowadays  to 
the  number  of  male  missionaries,  and  sometimes  they  outnumber 
the  men.  The  missionary  census  of  1900 — the  safest  statistical 
basis — enumerates  a  total  of  976  missionaries  in  the  whole  of 
India  and  1174  women  missionaries,  i.e.  nearly  200  more  women 
than  men.  In  both  these  numbers  the  Eurasian  element  is 
included ;  but  though  it  is  certainly  more  considerable  in  the 
case  of  women  missionaries  than  amongst  the  men,  still  the 
percentage  cannot  be  anything  like  so  high  as  it  was  in  the 
previous  period,  1 854-1 880.  And  unless  we  are  greatly 
mistaken,  the  number  of  women  missionaries  is  still  steadily 
mounting:  from  479  in  1881  it  had  risen  to  711  in  1890,  and  in 
the  succeeding  decade  to  1174 — i.e.  an  increase  during  the  last- 
named  period  of  463,  or  nearly  equal  to  the  entire  number  of 
women  missionaries  in  1881. 

Whether  this  be  an  essentially  healthy  state  of  things  or  not, 
opinions  differ  in  England  and  America.  Let  us  endeavour  to 
form  an  unbiased  opinion.  That  there  is  a  great  sphere  of 
work  for  a  much  larger  number  of  women  missionaries  amongst 


344  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

the  40  million  zenana  women,  and  the  number  of  women  at 
least  as  great  who,  because  of  the  Indian  ideas  on  the  place  of 
woman  and  on  morality,  can  never  be  influenced  by  male 
missionaries  and  their  assistants,  is  not  open  to  a  moment's 
doubt.  Everywhere  in  India  the  question  to-day  is  no  longer, 
"  How  can  we  open  up  the  zenanas  ?  "  but  rather,  "  Where  can 
we  obtain  workers  to  enter  the  doors  that  open  to  us  on  every 
side?"  The  peculiar  conditions  of  zenana  life  render  it 
imperative  on  each  woman  worker  to  take  up  only  a  com- 
paratively limited  circle  of  v/ork,  at  most  a  couple  of  dozen 
zenanas,  and  thus  a  large  number  of  women  missionaries  can 
be  collocated  together  without  trespassing  on  one  another's 
particular  sphere.  After  missionaries  had  devoted  over  half 
a  century  solely  to  work  amongst  men,  it  was  time  to  enter 
upon  work  for  women  in  all  earnestness,  and  the  more  so  because 
it  was  very  easy  to  see  that  the  latter  clung  most  tenaciously  of 
all  to  old  heathen  beliefs  and  usages. 

But  the  more  affectionate  and  intimate  the  relations  between 
the  women  missionaries  and  those  living  in  zenanas  become, 
the  more  severely  is  any  interruption  of  the  regularity  of 
visits  paid  there  felt;  and  such  are  unfortunately  only  too 
frequent,  and  work  is  only  too  often  handed  on  from  one  pair 
of  hands  to  another.  And  the  changes  in  the  personnel  of  the 
lady  missionaries  are  particularly  frequent.  For  this  there  are 
a  number  of  reasons.  That  in  reality  single  or  widowed 
missionaries  cannot  do  better  than  marry  a  lady  missionary  has 
been  already  mentioned  ;  but  it  is  not  a  matter  so  greatly  to  be 
desired  that  other  Anglo-Indians,  civil  servants  and  merchants, 
should  not  infrequently  turn  in  this  direction  when  seeking  a 
wife.  Further,  the  work  in  the  zenanas  is  exhausting  and 
irritating,  and  of  course  this  is  precisely  the  case  in  proportion 
to  the  number  of  visits  paid  by  the  women  missionaries  and  the 
extent  to  which  they  engage  in  educational  work  within  the 
zenanas.  Very  frequently  their  health  can  endure  such  a  strain 
for  a  few  years  at  the  outside.  Then  amongst  these  ladies  are 
many  who  have  gone  out  wholly  or  in  part  at  their  own 
expense  and  who  possess  sufficient  means  to  live  comfortably 
at  home.  It  lies  in  the  nature  of  things  that  such  workers  are 
more  independent  of  the  missionary  committees,  and  are  more 
easily  frightened  away  from  their  post  by  obstacles,  illness,  or 
disappointment  than  one  dependent  on  the  Committee  for  her 
whole  livelihood.  Then,  too,  whilst  both  in  England  and 
America  a  certain  measure  of  intellectual  training  and 
theological  equipment  is  fortunately  always  demanded  of  male 
candidates  before  they  can  be  accepted  as  missionaries,  members 
of  the  women's  committees  are  often  disposed  to  lower  the 


MISSIONARY  ORGANISATION  345 

standard  of  education  in  the  case  of  female  candidates  and  to 
rest  content  with  the  general  culture  possessed  by  a  person 
belonging  to  the  ordinary  educated  classes  in  those  countries. 
The  number  of  special  preparatory  schools  for  women  mission- 
aries is  but  small,  and  only  a  small  percentage  of  those  sent  out 
have  passed  through  such  institutions.  Comfort  is  found  in  the 
reflection  that  for  zenana  visiting  and  teaching  in  elementary 
girl  schools  such  a  standard  may  suffice.  That  may  be  partly 
true ;  but  it  does  not  guarantee  that  unsuitable  persons  will  not 
be  sent  out,  persons  whose  little  blaze  of  enthusiasm  will  die 
down  only  too  quickly  beneath  the  oppressive  glowing  heat  of 
the  Indian  cities.  It  is  principally  in  the  matter  of  capability 
and  perseverance  in  thoroughly  learning  Indian  languages  and 
in  gaining  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  Indian  mind  and  its 
ways  of  thought  that  this  faulty  training  tells ;  it  is  self-evident 
that  for  the  delicate  individual  dealing  which  zenana  work 
entails,  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  language  and  a  sympathetic 
comprehension  of  the  Indian  thought-world  is  indispensable. 
And  it  is  just  in  this  respect  that  one  hears  the  most  keen  regret 
expressed  with  regard  to  many  women  missionaries,  illustrious 
exceptions,  of  course,  being  always  allowed  for. 

With  the  rapid  increase  in  the  number  of  women  mission- 
aries, their  work  has  been  extended  in  many  directions.  The 
two  main  branches  of  it  have  naturally  continued  to  be  teaching 
in  girls'  schools  and  visiting  the  zenanas.  The  number  of  girls' 
schools  has  now  grown  to  1600  with  83,622  scholars  (as  against 
47,276  in  1 881),  and  the  number  of  zenanas  regularly  visited  is 
given  as  51,932  with  some  39,894  under  instruction.  Concern- 
ing the  work  of  lady  doctors  we  shall  speak  in  the  next  section 
of  the  present  chapter. 

As  India  is  so  pre-eminently  a  land  of  villages,  it  was  only 
to  be  expected  that  women  missionaries,  having  started  in  the 
large  towns,  should  presently  extend  their  sphere  of  operations 
to  the  country  districts  and  make  attempts  at  itinerant  work. 
At  first  it  must  have  been  a  truly  remarkable  sight  for  the 
Hindus  to  see  single  ladies  journeying  for  weeks  up  and  down 
the  country  alone  with  their  tents  and  their  servants.  But  they 
had  already  grown  accustomed  to  so  many,  to  them,  astounding 
habits  on  the  part  of  their  rulers  that  they  soon  became  recon- 
ciled to  this  one  also.  And  as  the  Hindus  are  in  general  so 
harmless  that  a  stranger  may  travel  from  the  Himalayas  to 
Cape  Comorin,  either  along  the  populous  main  lines  of  com- 
munication or  through  the  remotest  jungles,  unarmed,  women 
missionaries  encounter  no  more  peril  on  these  long  journeys 
than  they  would  at  home ;  the  only  difference  is  that  the 
Indian  climate  has  always  to  be  reckoned  with.     These  village 


346  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

missions  have  received  much  attention  by  women  missionaries. 
At  the  beginning  of  the  cool  season  hundreds  of  them  start  off 
across  the  country  in  every  direction,  gathering  about  them 
wherever  they  go  the  women  and  children  of  the  villages  and 
hamlets.  They  are  particularly  welcome  guests  when  they 
bring  with  them  a  well-filled  medicine  chest  and  know  how  to 
make  a  good  use  of  it.  Since  about  1880  these  village  missions 
have  formed  a  recognised  branch  of  women's  missionary  work, 
especially  in  North  India. 


7.  Medical  Missions 

In  India,  as  in  other  mission  fields,  nearly  all  missionaries 
have  at  some  time  or  other  been  in  a  position  to  use  whatever 
measure  of  medical  skill  they  possessed  in  the  healing  of 
disease  ;  and  many  of  them  have  been  able  to  accomplish  much 
good  by  means  of  this  modest  service  of  love,  even  although 
they  may  not  have  enjoyed  the  advantages  of  special  medical 
training.  For  a  long  time  past,  therefore,  it  has  been  deemed 
advisable  that  all  young  missionaries  should  be  instructed  in 
at  least  the  elements  of  medicine.  India  has  been  the  country 
par  excellence  in  which,  from  the  very  commencement  of  the 
English  occupation,  medical  men  have  demonstrated  what 
brilliant  service  they  were  capable  of  rendering  to  their  race. 
It  was  a  doctor — Dr.  Gabriel  Boughton — who  in  1636,  in  return 
for  medical  assistance  he  had  been  able  to  afford  the  Great 
Moghul,  Shah  Jehan,  obtained  permission  from  that  grateful 
monarch  for  Englishmen  to  settle  at  various  ports  on  the 
Coromandel  coast.  Another  doctor,  Hamilton  by  name, 
materially  aided  the  objects  of  a  British  Embassy,  which  he 
accompanied  in  171 3,  by  curing  another  Great  Moghul  of  a 
painful  malady.  These  and  similar  examples  early  pointed  out 
what  a  large  degree  of  support  Protestant  missions  might  hope 
to  derive  from  medical  skill. 

From  the  first  there  have  always  been  some  doctors  in  the 
ranks  of  the  missionaries  who  have  practised  medicine  to  a 
greater  or  less  extent.  The  first  we  read  of  was  Justus 
Heurnius,  a  Dutchman  (1624-1638).  The  Danish  Mission  sent 
out  quite  a  number  of  doctors— Messrs.  Schlegelmilch,  Cnoll, 
Konig,  Martins,  and  Klein.  The  first  named  died  within  a 
fortnight  of  his  arrival;  the  second  greatly  injured  the  Mission 
by  his  worldly  spirit  and  dissolute  behaviour ;  whilst  the  third 
subsequently  entered  the  service  of  the  Nawab  of  Arcot.  Of 
the  Moravian  missionaries  who  carried  on  their  quiet,  unassum- 
ing ministry  in  the  "  Garden  of  the  Brethren  "  at  Tranquebar 


MISSIONARY  ORGANISATION  347 

(1759-1804),  one,  Dr.  Betschler,  contributed  no  small  sum  by 
his  medical  practice  to  the  support  of  his  colleagues.  Carey's 
first  colleague  was  a  surgeon,  Dr.  Thomas,  who,  however,  despite 
much  goodwill,  by  his  rash  conduct  and  constant  falling  into 
debt  proved  more  of  a  hindrance  than  a  help  to  Carey's  work. 
The  farther  we  advance  into  the  nineteenth  century  the  greater 
number  of  men  do  we  meet  with  who  were,  in  the  modern  sense 
of  the  word,  medical  missionaries — that  is,  men  who  placed  their 
medical  skill  at  the  service  of  the  missionary  enterprise  and 
who  sought  to  use  it  as  an  instrument  in  the  saving  of  souls. 
But  there  was  as  yet  no  clear  perception  of  the  methods  of 
working  to  be  followed  nor  of  the  particular  tasks  devolving 
upon  medical  labour  as  a  special  branch  of  missionary  organi- 
sation. The  first  and  perhaps  most  distinguished  of  these  early 
practitioners  was  Dr.  John  Scudder,  who  was  sent  out  by  the 
American  Baptists  to  North  Ceylon  in  1819,  and  who,  until  his 
return  to  North  America  in  1854,^  toiled  with  undaunted 
enthusiasm  in  the  Jaffna  district  of  Ceylon,  in  the  district  of 
Madura,  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Madras,  and  in  and  around 
Arcot,  preaching  and  healing — a  true  pioneer,  especially  of  the 
Arcot  Mission.  At  this  time  the  American  Board  was  far 
ahead  of  all  other  societies  working  in  India  in  the  sending  out 
of  thoroughly  trained  medical  men.  In  North  Ceylon  it  had 
Dr.  Nathan  Ward  (183 3-1 847)  and  the  ardent  and  able  Dr. 
Samuel  Green  (from  1 847  onwards) ;  in  Madura,  Dr.  Steele 
(i  837-1 842),  Dr.  Charles  Sheldon  (i  849-1 856),  Dr.  Lord 
(1853-1867);  and  in  the  Arcot  district,  working  together  with 
his  father,  Dr.  Henry  Scudder  (from  1851).  The  London 
Missionary  Society  endeavoured  to  begin  medical  work  in  its 
South  Travancore  Mission  ;  but  the  first  man  to  be  sent  out, 
Dr.  Ramsay  (i 838-1 842),  threw  up  his  work  and  retired,  and 
the  second.  Dr.  Leitch  (i 852-1 854),  was  drowned  whilst  bathing. 
Better  known  are  two  missionaries  sent  out  by  the  American 
Baptists,  Dr.  Otis  Bachelor,  an  American  who  went  out  in  1840, 
and  an  Englishman,  Dr.  Williamson  ;  the  one  worked  for  long 
years  in  the  Balasore  and  Midnapur  districts  of  Western  Bengal, 
the  other  at  the  river  stations  in  Eastern  Bengal.  In  1858, 
however,  there  were  only  seven  fully  qualified  medical  mission- 
aries in  the  whole  of  India. 

The  twenty-five  years  succeeding  the  Mutiny  (i 857-1 882)  is 
the  period  during  which  the  real  foundation  of  this  work  was 
laid.  But  even  during  those  years  medical  mission  work  was 
conducted  on  a  very  small  scale  ;  at  the  end  of  the  period  there 
were  only  twenty-eight  medical  missionaries  in  the  field.  At 
first  their  work  was  of  only  one  type.     The  London  Missionary 

1  He  died  in  1S55. 


348  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

Society  again  took  up,  with  boundless  energy  and  a  splendid 
staff  of  agents,  the  frequently  interrupted  work  in  South 
Travancore.  Dr.  Lowe  (i 861-1868),  Dr.  Thomson  (i 873-1 884), 
and  Dr.  Sargood  Fry  (i  883-1 892)  made  their  hospital  station 
at  Neyoor  the  centre  of  a  vast  activity  (embracing  fifteen  sub- 
hospitals  and  dispensaries)  and  a  model  institution  of  its  kind. 
At  the  same  time  they  were  bound  by  ties  of  close  sympathy 
and  fellowship  to  the  Medical  Missionary  Society  of  Edinburgh 
(founded  in  1843),  the  secretaries  and  leading  spirits  of  which 
were  successively  two  Neyoor  doctors,  Drs.  Lowe  (1868- 1892) 
and  Fry  (from  1892). 

Through  their  united  efforts  general  recognition,  especially  in 
Scotch  missionary  circles,  was  won  for  the  watchword  of  the 
Edinburgh  Society,  "  Preach  and  Heal,"  and  medical  missions, 
justifying  themselves  by  the  examples  of  Christ's  miracles  of 
healing,  took  rank  along  with  evangelistic  and  educational  mis- 
sions. Two  considerations  were,  and  are  still,  skilfully  advanced 
to  strengthen  this  position.  The  practice  of  the  credulous  and 
ignorant  quack  doctors  of  India,  the  so-called  hakims,  is  every- 
where overgrown  with  heathenish  superstitions  ;  it  takes  its  root 
in  superstition,  and  seeks  to  impress  superstitious  fancies  upon 
the  minds  of  the  people.  By  the  introduction  of  a  rational 
treatment  of  the  sick,  especially  when  this  is  accompanied  by 
illuminating  and  convincing  preaching,  a  crushing  blow  has 
been  struck  at  superstition.  In  the  second  place,  missionaries 
are  bound  to  make  it  a  matter  of  conscience  with  their  converts 
to  renounce  once  and  for  all  their  hakims,  and  in  times  of  sick- 
ness to  apply  solely  to  doctors  who  have  received  a  scientific 
training.  To  set  limitations  of  this  nature  would  be  as 
impracticable  as  it  is  unjust  unless  the  missionary  societies 
were  also  to  undertake  that  a  sufficient  number  of  trustworthy 
doctors  should  be  forthcoming. 

These  ideas  took  root  especially  in  the  Scotch  missions,  which 
now  take  the  lead  in  this  department.  The  new  mission  of  the 
United  Presbyterians  in  Rajputana  was  richly  supplied  with 
medical  men  from  the  very  beginning,  among  them  being 
splendid  men  like  Dr.  Shoolbred,  Dr.  Colin  Valentine,  and 
others.  Nearly  every  mission  station  became  a  centre  for 
medical  work  and  was  equipped  with  a  hospital:  1862,  Beawar  ; 
1873,  Ajmer  and  Nazirabad  ;  1877,  Udaipur  ;  and  somewhat  later 
(1885),  Jodhpur.  Valentine's  medical  skill  opened  the  closed 
doors  of  the  state  and  city  of  Jodhpur  (1866)  and  Valentine 
himself  was  made  Physician  to  the  Maharajah  (till  1874).  The 
Scotch  P"rce  Church  (which  united  with  the  United  Presby- 
terians in  the  year  1900)  shared  the  same  views,  and  began 
slowly   to   equip  all    its   great    Indian  stations   with   hospitals 


MISSIONARY  ORGANISATION  349 

and  medical  missionaries :  Madras  (Royapurum,  a  women's 
hospital),  1857;  Pachamba,  1871 ;  Tundi,  1889;  Chakai,  1890 — the 
three  Santal  stations  ;  Thana,  near  Bombay,  1877  ;  Nagpur,  1886 ; 
Bhandara,  1888;  Wardha,  1895;  Jalna,  1890;  Kulna,  on  the 
Hooghly,  1894;  Walajabad,  1889;  and  Conjeeveram,  1903.  In 
each  case  the  date  denotes  the  year  when  the  hospitals  at 
the  various  stations  were  opened  ;  medical  missionary  work 
generally  started  considerably  earlier.  Also  the  English 
Presbyterians,  who  stand  in  close  relationship  to  the  Free 
Church  of  Scotland,  followed  the  latter's  example  at  their  one 
Indian  station  of  Rampur  Bauleah  in  Bengal  (1878.  The 
hospital  was  opened  in  1894).  But  beyond  this  comparatively 
small  circle  the  new  department  was  only  extended,  for  the 
time  being,  sporadically ;  and  although  the  Scotch  views  found 
inspired  and  eloquent  exponents,  yet  more  sober  onlookers 
discovered  many  weak  spots ;  so  that  through  these  arguments 
alone  medical  missions  would  scarcely  have  won  general 
approbation  and  recognition.  The  necessary  apparatus  is 
cumbersome  and  expensive.  To  lead  up  to  the  Healer  of  Souls 
by  way  of  medical  treatment  is  after  all  a  roundabout  method, 
and  roundabout  methods  ought  only  to  be  adopted  when  direct 
methods  have  proved  to  be  failures.  The  conviction  is  every- 
where gaining  ground  that  nothing  should  be  given  in  charity, 
because  it  easily  does  more  harm  than  good.  Gratuitous 
medical  assistance  on  a  large  scale,  however,  may  easily  partake 
of  the  character  of  charity,  especially  when  it  benefits  such  as 
are  not  altogether  penniless  ;  and  no  means  has  been  discovered 
whereby  adequate  payment  for  medical  treatment  may  be 
levied.  Nevertheless,  the  benefits  conferred  by  this  almost 
universally  gratuitous  medical  attendance  are  for  the  heathen 
such  a  convincing  and  illuminating  object-lesson  of  the  Religion 
of  Love  that  in  every  part  of  the  country  we  find  hospitals 
similar  to  those  already  referred  to  being  erected  even  in  our 
own  day.  We  will  here  merely  mention  that  the  Basle  Mission- 
ary Society  has  begun  medical  work  at  Calicut  (1885)  under 
the  direction  of  Dr.  Liebendorfer,  at  Betigeri,  and  at  a  number 
of  dispensaries. 

The  renaissance  of  medical  missions  dates  from  the  time 
when  two  new  and  important  branches  of  this  particular  work 
were  developed  on  a  large  scale — about  1882.  Ever  since  the 
time  when,  as  a  result  of  the  rapid  increase  in  the  number 
of  women  missionaries,  special  interest  has  been  directed  to 
mission  work  amongst  women,  the  great  need  of  these  latter, 
particularly  in  times  of  sickness,  has  lain  heavily  on  the  hearts 
of  all  lovers  of  missions.  Medical  aid  was  difficult  for  men  to 
obtain,  but  it  was  practically  non-existent,  because  of  caste  and 


3  50  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

the  zenana  system,  for  their  wives  and  daughters.  And  the 
more  women  missionaries  penetrated  into  the  hidden  world  of 
the- zenanas  the  more  awful  were  the  pictures  they  painted  of 
the  dire  distress  and  neglect  reigning  therein.  As  the  zenanas 
were  closed  against  the  hakims  as  well  as  against  the  mission- 
ary doctor,  there  arose  one  far-resounding  cry  that  met  with  a 
speedy  response  :  "  We  must  have  lady  doctors."  The  modest 
beginnings  of  this  kind  of  work  date  from  two  decades  earlier. 
It  was  in  i860  that  the  American  Episcopal  Methodists  com- 
missioned their  first  female  medical  missionary,  Dr.  Clara  Swain, 
to  start  work  in  North  India  (though  she  had  been  in  the 
country  since  1857).  In  1867  that  active  woman  missionary, 
Mrs.  Winter,  of  the  S.P.G.,  commenced  her  service  of  love 
amongst  the  sick  women  of  Delhi.  At  Hoshangabad  a  small 
women's  hospital  was  erected  by  the  Quakers  in  1878.  Then 
at  one  stroke  two  great  zenana  societies  determined  to  launch 
out  on  a  large  scale  into  this  new  department  of  work :  the 
Zenana  Bible  and  Medical  Mission  and  the  Church  of  England 
Zenana  Missionary  Society.  The  first  of  these  had  already 
made  a  start  with  a  dispensary  for  women  in  1876;  not  only 
was  this  developed  in  1887  to  a  great  hospital,  but  further  large 
women's  hospitals  were  built  in  Benares,  Ajuthia  (Ajodhya),  and 
Patna.  The  Church  of  England  Zenana  Missionary  Society, 
which  had  been  founded  in  1880,  devoted  special  attention  from 
the  first  to  the  new  department  of  service,  particularly  in  the 
Punjab  ;  there  women's  hospitals  were  erected  in  quick  succession 
at  Amritsar  (1880),  Jandiala  (1882;  complete  hospital  opened 
1894),  and  Peshawar  (1884).  Further,  at  several  branch 
stations  lying  within  a  more  or  less  accessible  distance  from 
Amritsar,  branch  hospitals  with  dispensaries  for  women  and 
children  were  founded,  and  at  Krishnagar  in  Bengal  (1889)  and 
at  Bangalore  in  the  Mysore  (i  891)  immense  hospitals  for  women 
were  erected.  The  C.E.Z.M.S.  alone  has  now  twelve  lady 
doctors  in  its  service.  By  the  work  of  these  societies  two  great 
examples  had  been  given,  and  other  societies  were  not  slow  to 
follow  suit,  especially  as  it  was  impossible  to  deny  the  weight 
of  the  arguments  which  had  led  to  the  new  departure. 

The  missionary  societies,  however,  were  soon  to  find  eager 
rivals  in  this  particular  field.  The  misery  and  distress  of 
women  in  cases  of  sickness  was  so  appalling  that  the  noble 
consort  of  Lord  Dufferin,  the  Viceroy  (i 884-1 888),  determined  to 
make  a  great  effort  towards  applying  some  measure  of  relief 
In  1886  she  founded  a  "National  Association  for  supplying 
Medical  Aid  to  the  Women  of  India."  Before  this  Association 
she  placed  three  distinct  goals :  the  training  of  competent 
women  doctors,  nurses,  and  midwives ;  the  erection  of  hospitals 


MISSIONARY  ORGANISATION  351 

for  women ;  and  the  private  nursing  of  the  sick  in  the  zenanas. 
But  in  the  pursuit  of  these  objects  she  forbade,  in  the  most 
emphatic  fashion,  the  carrying  on  of  any  religious  propaganda 
whatsoever,  and  most  of  all  of  any  Christian  propaganda.  The 
Empress  Victoria  bestowed  her  patronage  upon  the  Association. 
Funds  poured  in  from  all  quarters.  One  old  lady  bequeathed 
;^i 2,000,  a  Parsi  ;^io,ooo,  a  Muhammadan  publisher  at 
Lucknow  ;^I500,  and  so  on.  The  first  annual  report  an- 
nounced receipts  of  over  ^^"23,000. 

To-day  the  Association  maintains  seventy  -  four  women 
doctors  and  fifty-two  assistants,  whilst  two  hundred  and  fifty- 
seven  women  students  are  enabled  by  its  funds  to  attend  various 
medical  colleges.  At  first  missionaries  used  every  effort  to 
transform  the  religious  indifference  of  so  influential  an  organisa- 
tion into  something  more  favourable  to  Christianity.  But  it 
was  all  in  vain ;  and  they  have  come  to  see,  in  an  association 
carried  on  solely  from  humanitarian  motives,  an  ally  in  the  work 
of  sweeping  away  the  unutterable  misery  of  the  women  of  India. 

The  Church  Missionary  Society  took  a  new  departure.  Its 
Kashmir  Mission  had  been  commenced  in  1864  by  a  medical 
missionary,  Dr.  Elmslie,  a  most  capable  and  devoted  man,  who 
was  cut  down  in  the  heyday  of  his  service  in  1872.  He  and  his 
successors.  Dr.  Maxwell  (1873-1875),  Dr.  Downes  (1875-1881), 
and  the  brothers  Neve  (since  1881  and  1886  respectively), 
succeeded  in  the  most  marvellous  way,  not  only  in  overcoming 
the  opposition  of  the  Maharajah  but  also  in  preparing  a 
way  for  the  messengers  of  the  gospel  amongst  a  fanatic 
and  indolent  people.  The  Church  Missionary  Society  deter- 
mined to  use  the  same  key  which  had  been  so  successfully 
used  in  Kashmir  to  unlock  other  hearts  specially  set  against  its 
workers ;  and  first  of  all  in  the  Punjab,  which,  owing  to  the 
preponderance  of  a  fanatical  Muhammadan  population  on  the 
one  hand,  and  on  the  other,  to  the  wild,  cruel  Afghan  and  Baluchi 
tribes  on  the  west  and  north-west  frontiers,  presented  a  problem 
of  exceptional  difficulty.  Here  they  laid  down  a  chain  of 
stations  largely,  if  not  exclusively,  for  medical  work :  in  1868  at 
Tank,  in  1879  at  Dera  Ghazi  Khan,  in  1882  at  Amritsar,  in 
1885  at  Multan,  in  1886  at  Quetta  (the  newly  annexed  Frontier 
district),  in  1890  at  Dera  Ismail  Khan,  and  in  1894  at  Bannu. 
A  hospital  was  also  opened  in  1897  a-t  Peshawar,  where  medical 
work  had  already  been  in  progress  for  a  considerable  period  ; 
to  the  men's  hospital  at  Srinagar  in  Kashmir  was  added  one  for 
women  at  Islamabad,  in  the  immediate  neighbourhood,  in  1902  ; 
and  at  Kangra  and  Kotgarh  doctors  were  stationed  in  order 
that  tours  both  for  purposes  of  preaching  and  of  healing  might 
be    made  among   the    far-stretching   spurs  of  the    Himalayas. 


35  2  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

Large  gifts  of  money  encouraged  the  Society  to  continue  to 
extend  its  work  in  this  direction :  the  Dera  Ismail  Khan 
hospital  was  built  with  a  legacy  of  ;^I500  left  by  Maxwell 
Gordon,  the  missionary  who  fell  at  Kandahar ;  and  the 
women's  hospital  at  Islamabad  was  erected  by  the  famous 
traveller,  Mrs.  Isabella  Bird  Bishop,  in  memory  of  her  deceased 
husband,  Dr.  John  Bishop,  and  then  handed  over  to  the 
Society.^ 

This  third  development,  the  employment  of  medical  missions 
as  a  means  for  obtaining  a  foothold  in  especially  difficult 
districts,  has  found  many  supporters,  more  particularly  in  the 
Punjab.  The  American  Presbyterians  had  already  sent  out 
medical  missionaries  on  preaching  and  healing  tours,  e.g.  Dr. 
John  Newton  in  1858,  Dr.  Carleton  in  1881,  and  Dr.  C.  W. 
Forman  in  1883.  Later  they  laid  emphasis  on  providing 
medical  assistance  for  women  and  children,  and  established 
hospitals  for  women  at  Ambala  and  Jagraon  (near  Ludhiana). 
The  American  United  Presbyterians  opened  women's  hospitals 
at  Jhelum  (1890)  and  Sialkot  (1887),  whilst  the  Church  of 
Scotland,  working  hand  in  hand  with  the  last-named  Society, 
erected  similar  hospitals  at  Chamba  (1894),  Gujarat  (1895), 
and  Jalalpur  (1899).  The  Punjab  thus  became  the  favourite 
territory  of  medical  missions. 

From  the  first,  medical  missionaries  have  been  much  occupied 
in  training  a  competent  and  well-equipped  staff  of  native 
helpers.  They  need  them  as  much  for  every  fresh  extension  of 
the  work  when  new  hospitals  and  dispensaries  are  founded  as 
for  the  ordinary  care  of  the  sick  and  in  the  dispensing  of 
medicines.  And  this  need  has  been  as  urgent  in  women's 
hospitals  as  in  those  for  men.  Down  to  about  1880  efforts  were 
made  to  get  over  the  difficulty  by  forming  teaching  classes  of 
the  young  men  or  young  women,  as  the  case  might  be,  who 
had  the  requisite  amount  of  previous  preparation:  from  1847 
onwards  Dr.  Grant  of  Jaffna  (American  Board),  Miss  Hewlett 
of  Amritsar  (C.E.Z.M.S.),  and  Dr.  Dease  of  Bareilly  (American 

^  The  munificent  gifts  received  from  Hindus  and  Muhammadans  alike  for  medical 
missions  are  one  of  the  most  encouraging  features  of  Indian  missionary  history  and 
an  incontrovertible  proof  of  the  real  gratitude  of  the  Indian  people.  When  the 
American  Baptist  hospital  for  men  at  Madura  required  rebuilding,  the  Hindus,  with 
the  Prince  of  Ramnad  at  their  head,  collected  the  whole  of  the  funds  required,  some 
44,000  rupees.  The  hospital  at  Udaipur,  a  beautiful  building  containing  fifty  beds, 
was  a  present  from  the  Prince  of  Mewar  to  the  United  Free  Church  of  Scotland.  And 
the  handsome  new  hospital  at  Jodhpur  in  Rajputana  was  erected  largely  at  the  cost 
of  the  Rajah,  who  earlier  had  been  one  of  the  bitterest  opponents  of  missions. 
Towards  the  United  P'ree  Church  of  Scotland's  hospital  at  Kulna,  Bengal,  a  subscrip- 
tion of  20,500  rupees  was  given  by  the  Government  in  1904.  At  Nasik  the  Brahmans 
have  presented  the  Zenana  Bible  and  Medical  Mission  with  a  hospital.  Other  cases 
might  be  cited. 


MISSIONARY  ORGANISATION  353 

Episcopal  Methodist)  all  conducted  such  classes.^  But  progress 
in  this  direction  was  only  possible  on  territory  not  absolutely 
British,  such  as  South  Travancore ;  the  Neyoor  hospital  of  the 
L.M.S.  has  shown  itself  to  be  a  most  successful  nursery  for  the 
training  of  a  body  of  native  doctors.  In  British  India  private 
medical  training  of  this  sort  has  been  more  and  more  rendered 
impossible  by  the  increasing  definite  qualifications  demanded  of 
medical  practitioners  and  by  the  regulation  that  they  must  pass 
certain  examinations  and  produce  certain  testimonials.  The 
missionaries  have  had  to  make  up  their  minds  in  such  cases  to 
let  those  young  Christians  who  were  suitable  take  a  regular 
course  of  study.  In  order  to  help  the  young  men  to  make  the 
most  of  their  studies,  a  Scotch  missionary,  Dr.  Colin  Valentine, 
gave  up  his  post  as  Physician  to  the  Maharajah  of  Jaipur  and 
founded  at  Agra  in  1881  the  Agra  Medical  Missionary  Training 
Institute,  There  he  trained  young  medical  students  entrusted 
to  his  care  by  quite  a  number  of  missionary  societies,  and 
supplemented  their  studies  at  the  Government  School  of 
Medicine  in  Agra  by  means  of  scientific  and  practical  courses. 
By  systematic  evangelical  instruction  he  trained  them  at  the 
same  time  for  mission  work.^  The  experiment  was  made  of 
sending  women  students  also  to  the  Government  Schools;  but 
the  contact  with  heathen  men  students  had  such  bad  effects  that 
it  soon  became  evident  that  capable  Indian  lady  doctors  and 
dispensers,  possessed  of  spiritual  as  well  as  mental  qualifications 
for  missionary  work,  could  only  be  trained  in  a  special  medical 
school  for  Christian  women  students.  Two  English  women 
medical  missionaries,  Dr.  Edith  Brown  and  Miss  Greenfield, 
took  the  far-reaching  project  in  hand,  and  in  the  autumn  of 
1894  the  "North  India  School  of  Medicine  for  Christian 
Women "  was  founded  at  Ludhiana  in  the  Punjab.^  The 
Charlotte  Hospital  (which  had  been  founded  by  the  enterprising 
Miss  Greenfield  in  1889)  was  the  first  training  school;  when 
this  did  not  suffice,  a  second,  the  Memorial  Hospital,  was  put 
up  in  1898.  Four  women  medical  missionaries  and  one  fully 
qualified  nurse  compose  the  teaching  faculty.  Three  courses 
were  arranged :  the  full  medical  course  of  five  years  with  a 
special  Government  examination  and  an  obligatory  examination 
in  obstetrics  ;  another  course  for  the  training  of  women 
dispensers  also  closing  with  a  Government  examination ;  and  a 

^  Dr.  Grant  also  worked  at  the  translation  of  technical  medical  terms  into  Tamil 
and  the  composition  of  text-books  in  the  various  branches  of  medicine  for  the  instruc- 
tion of  his  own  students. 

-  When  Dr.  Valentine  was  obliged  to  return  to  Scotland  in  1901,  he  was  suc- 
ceeded by  a  Scotch  medical  missionary,  Dr.  William  Huntley. 

^  From  another  quarter  but  for  similar  reasons  the  Lady  Lyall  Medical  School  for 
Females  had  been  established  at  Lucknow  in  1SS7. 

23 


354  HISTORY  OF  LNDIAN  MISSIONS 

simpler  course  on  sick  nursing.  The  number  of  students  has 
increased  rapidly ;  there  are  now  forty  of  them.  After  some 
reluctance  the  Punjab  University  has  consented  to  affiliate  this 
unique  institution,  provided  certain  additional  development  takes 
place.  A  medical  faculty  recognised  by  the  State,  and  founded 
by  five  fairly  young  medical  women,  is  certainly  one  of  the  most 
original  developments  in  the  whole  history  of  Indian  missions  ! 

In  the  year  1882,  at  the  beginning  of  the  period  which  we 
have  characterised  as  the  golden  age  of  medical  missions, 
there  were  28  medical  missionaries  in  India.  By  1895  this 
number  had  increased  to  140,  who  had  168  native  helpers 
and  in  whose  care  there  were  some  166  hospitals  and  dis- 
pensaries. At  the  beginning  of  the  year  1905  there  were 
280  medical  missionaries  of  both  sexes.  We  have  three  almost 
contemporaneous  and  valuable  sketches  of  medical  mission 
work.^  According  to  them,  there  were  in  India  in  1905  ninety 
missionary  hospitals  and  at  least  212  dispensaries,  more  than 
a  quarter  of  the  total  being  in  the  Punjab.  In  the  year  chosen 
by  Dennis  for  his  investigations,  22,503  patients  were  treated 
for  a  longer  or  shorter  period  in  the  hospitals,  and  842,600  other 
patients  in  the  dispensaries,  whither  two  and  a  half  million 
visits  were  paid  by  the  doctors.  The  widest  activity  is  that 
in  connection  with  the  Neyoor  Hospital  (L.M.S.)  in  South 
Travancore,  which  has  13  branch  hospitals  and  dispen- 
saries. Dr.  Arthur  Fells,  the  Director,  has  a  staff  of  33 
assistants,  almost  all  of  them  trained  by  himself  in  the  different 
hospitals.  1641  hospital  patients,  84,859  dispensary  patients 
(making  135,557  visits),  and  4225  home  patients  receive  treat- 
ment during  the  year. 

A  rival  of  the  Neyoor  Hospital  is  the  great  unattached 
medical  mission  at  Ranaghat  in  Bengal,  which  was  founded  in 
1893  by  James  Monro,  a  former  Commissioner  of  the  London 
Police,  and  is  still  largely  maintained  and  directed  by  him  and 
by  members  of  his  family.^  It  embraces  two  hospitals  and  four 
dispensaries,  and  in  1899  treated  490  patients  in  the  hospitals 
and  33,114  in  the  dispensaries  (with  77,465  medical  visits). 
Another  famous  institution  is  that  of  the  Church  Missionary 
Society  at  Srinagar,  directed  by  the  brothers  Neve  and 
containing  150  beds.  During  the  year  it  gives  medical  aid 
to  1525  patients  in  the  hospital  and  to  18,973  (with  41,629 
medical  visits)  in  its  dispensaries.     In  connection  with  the  St. 

^  The  Missionary  Tables  for  1900,  Dennis's  Centennial  Survey  (p.  193),  and 
Dr.  Feldmann's  diligent  monograph,  Die  drztliche  Mission  tinter  IJeiden  und 
JMohaminedanern  (Basle,  1905).  Cf.  also  the  Quarterly  Paper  of  the  Edinburgh 
Medical  Mission  Society  (1905,  p.  84). 

^  On  January  ist,  1906,  Monro  made  over  his  entire  mission  to  the  Church 
Missionary  Society. 


MISSIONARY  ORGANISATION  355 

Catherine's  Hospital  for  Women  at  Amritsar  (C.E.Z.M.S.)  no  less 
than  12,000  women  were  attended  at  their  houses  during- con- 
finement in  the  year  1899.  These  few  figures  may  suffice  to 
give  some  idea  of  the  stream  of  Christian  benevolence  which 
is  pouring  forth  from  these  fountain-heads  of  love  across  the 
parched,  arid,  and  loveless  tracts  of  heathenism.^ 


8.  Missions  to  Lepers 

Work  amongst  lepers  is  closely  related  to  medical  missions. 
Its  chief  distinction,  omitting  others  of  lesser  importance,  is 
that  it  is  for  the  most  part  carried  on  not  by  doctors  but  by 
ordinary  men  and  women  missionaries.  Leprosy  is  very 
common  in  India.  It  is  true  the  census  of  1890  recorded  only 
114,239  lepers  and  that  of  1901  only  90,000;  but  the  number 
is  really  far  higher  than  this,  because  the  Hindus  conceal 
leprosy  as  long  as  possible,  in  fear  of  its  consequences — 
ostracism  from  caste,  etc.  Although  there  are  districts  in  India 
in  which  leprosy  is  found  only  sporadically,  there  are  others 
where  it  occurs  with  fearful  frequency.  In  the  very  thickly 
populated  province  of  Bengal  five  in  every  thousand  are  lepers  ; 
in  the  districts  of  Bankura  and  Birbhum  there  are  as  many  as 
36'3  per  thousand  !  And  yet  it  is  only  during  the  last  few 
years  that  any  even  general  precautions  have  been  taken 
against  this  scourge.  What  was  done  here  and  there  for  lepers, 
whether  locally  or  by  private  initiative,  we  shall  recount  later 
when  we  come  to  speak  of  the  work  of  the  Leper  Mission. 
Only  since  1890  has  the  Government  seriously  faced  the 
question.  In  1890  and  1891  a  Leprosy  Commission  went  all 
over  the  country  at  the  request  of  the  Government.  Its 
recommendations  resulted  in  the  Leprosy  Act  of  1896,  which 
is  applicable  to  the  entire  country.  Its  regulations — which  as 
a  matter  of  fact  are  only  partly  adopted  in  the  provinces  and 
protected  states — distinguish  between  the  lepers  who  are 
capable  of  following  a  trade  and  those  who  are  habitual 
beggars.  These  latter  are  to  be  gathered  in  asylums  to  be 
built  in  every  part  of  the  country,  and  to  be  interned  at  the 
expense  of  the  State,  especially  when  they  are  found  exposing 
their  wounds  in  order  to  excite  charity.  The  lepers  able  to 
exercise  a  trade  are  allowed  to  take  their  choice  as  to  whether 
they  enter  these  asylums  or  not.  But  if  they  elect  to  remain 
outside,  certain  restrictions  are  laid  upon  their  movements : 
they  may  not  avail  themselves  of  any  public  means  of  con- 

'  Medical   missionaries   in   India   have  since  1895   had  an  organ  of  tlieir  own, 
Medical  Missions  in  India,  which  is  published  at  Ajmer. 


3  56  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

veyance — railway,  steamboat,  tram-car  ;  they  may  not  draw 
water  from  public  fountains  and  tanks,  nor  wash  themselves  in 
the  same ;  they  may  not  engage  in  any  business  connected  in 
any  way  with  food  or  articles  of  clothing,  etc.  etc.  If  they 
continue  to  break  these  rules,  they  must  either  leave  the  part  of 
the  country  in  which  they  live  or  enter  the  nearest  refuge.  It 
is  yet  too  early  to  say  whether  this  law  will  stand  and  whether 
it  is  really  practicable.  It  has  been  most  vigorously  applied  in 
Bengal,  where  it  was  most  needed. 

The  immeasurable  misery  of  the  unhappy  lepers  has 
awakened  a  large  and  enduring  amount  of  Christian  sympathy. 
Evangelical  missions  have  done  a  great  deal  to  alleviate  their 
sufferings.  We  can  understand  how  it  was  that  so  late  a 
beginning  was  made  in  this  direction.  All  that  the  first  three- 
quarters  of  the  nineteenth  century  has  to  show  as  regards  mission- 
ary work  among  lepers  may  be  regarded  simply  as  a  groping  after 
a  commencement.  The  immediate  duties  of  missions,  preach- 
ing and  the  formation  of  native  churches,  at  first  engaged  all 
available  resources.  And  even  if  the  real  number  of  lepers  be 
considerably  more  than  is  officially  stated  in  the  census,  they 
still  compose,  in  comparison  with  the  teeming  millions  of  the 
population,  only  a  very  tiny  section,  which  seldom  mounts,  except 
in  specially  pestilential  districts,  to  more  than  one  per  thousand. 

The  pioneer  of  this  kind  of  work  was  once  again  William 
Carey,  who  founded  the  first  refuge  for  lepers  in  Calcutta.^  He 
was  succeeded  by  one  of  Gossner's  missionaries,  the  self-denying 
and  enthusiastic  Dr.  Ribbentrop  of  Chapra,  who  not  only 
founded  an  asylum  but  who  also,  personally  and  in  the  most 
self-sacrificing  way,  took  his  share  in  tending  the  lepers,  binding 
up  their  wounds  and  burying  their  dead.  Then  towards  the 
end  of  the  forties  Captain,  later  General,  Sir  J.  Ramsay  founded 
the  Lepers'  Hospital  in  Almora,  the  oldest  of  those  missionary 
asylums  still  in  existence,  and  in  1850  he  placed  the  direction 
of  it  in  the  hands  of  Budden,  a  zealous  missionary  belonging 
to  the  London  Missionary  Society.  And  then,  finally,  the 
American  Presbyterians  and  the  Church  of  Scotland  built  a 
couple  of  small  leper  hospitals  at  Sabathu  and  Ambala,  These 
last  proved  to  be  the  starting-point  of  a  much  greater  enterprise 
by  means  of  which  missions  to  lepers  were  to  justify^  their 
existence  and  their  right  to  become  an  independent  branch  of 
evangelical  missionary  work.  This  enterprise  is  connected  with 
the  name  of  Wellesley  Bailey,  an  Irish  missionary. 

Bailey  had  gone  out  to  India  in  1868,  and  was  engaged  in 
secular  employment.^     This,  however,  he  resigned  the  following 

^  Smith,  William  Carey,  p.  256. 

^  Cf.  Carson,  The  Story  of  the  Mission  to  Lepers,  2nd  edition. 


MISSIONARY  ORGANISATION  357 

year  and  entered  the  missionary  service,  working  first  under 
the  American  Presbyterians  and  then  under  the  Church  of 
Scotland  in  the  Punjab.  His  attention  was  early  directed 
to  the  lepers  by  Dr.  J.  Morrison,  and  owing  to  his  interest 
in  them,  the  charge  of  a  small  leper  hospital  at  Ambala  was 
entrusted  to  him.  During  a  series  of  preaching  tours  through 
the  entire  north-western  region  of  India,  he  came  to  realise, 
with  eyes  that  had  been  opened  by  his  term  of  hospital  work 
at  Ambala,  the  unspeakable  misery  of  the  lepers,  who,  cast 
out  by  their  relatives  and  neighbours,  were  forced  to  eke  out 
a  wretched  existence  as  beggars  by  the  roadside,  in  a  constant 
condition  of  starvation  and  filth,  without  comfort  or  hope  in 
the  world. 

In  1874  he  returned  to  his  native  country,  Ireland,  on 
furlough.  Here  his  heart  overflowed.  Again  and  again,  in 
speeches  and  addresses,  he  depicted  the  wretchedness  of  the 
lepers  of  India  and  pleaded  that  he  might  have  a  yearly 
sum  of  £2,0  for  their  relief.  He  obtained  more  than  he  asked 
for.  His  little  pamphlet  Lepers  in  India  called  public  attention 
to  the  matter.  A  "  Mission  to  Lepers  in  India  "  was  founded, 
and  Bailey  was  able  to  return  to  the  field  with  a  sum  of 
^600.  The  new  Society  resolved  from  the  beginning  to  send 
out  no  missionaries  of  its  own  but  to  work  in  conjunction 
with  existing  organisations,  and  through  them  to  found  new 
leper  hospitals  or  to  support  and  provide  for  the  spiritual 
side  of  the  work  in  those  already  erected.  Applications  for 
aid  from  the  funds  of  the  Society  soon  began  to  pour  in 
from  the  different  members  of  Bailey's  wide  circle  of  acquaint- 
ance. The  hospitals  at  Sabathu,  Almora,  and  Ambala  were 
enlarged  and  a  new  one  built  by  the  Church  of  Scotland  at 
Chamba.  The  Society  developed  in  proportion  as  the  need 
for  it  became  clearer.  In  1878  it  was  able  to  constitute  itself 
as  a  Missionary  Society  proper,  and  ten  years  later,  on  a 
thorough  revision  of  its  statutes  being  made,  a  proper 
committee  was  appointed,  thus  giving  it,  so  to  speak,  a  right 
to  a  voice  in  all  general  missionary  councils.  The  then 
Vicereine  of  India,  Lady  Dufferin,  became  its  patroness,  the 
Archbishop  of  Dublin  its  President,  the  pick  of  the  missionary 
secretaries  of  the  great  societies  its  Vice-Presidents,  and 
Bailey  himself  Superintendent  of  the  whole  work. 

One  cannot  but  admire  the  power  of  adaptation  possessed 
by  this  Society  in  everywhere  accommodating  itself  to  existing 
circumstances  and  in  establishing  itself  at  the  least  possible 
expense.  Care  for  the  lepers  and  the  erection  of  refuges  for 
them  is  primarily,  as  was  officially  recognised  by  the  already 
cited  Leper   Act   of   1896,   a   duty   of  the   State   and    of  the 


358  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

municipal  and  provincial  authorities.  As  the  Government 
provision  for  such  cases  is,  however,  still  lamentably  insufficient, 
the  missionary  societies  are  compelled,  at  any  rate  for  the 
present,  to  take  a  large  share  in  this  labour  of  love.  "  The 
Mission  to  Lepers"  assists  in  the  erection  of  refuges,  often 
with  considerable  sums ;  it  also  builds  such  refuges  on  its 
own  account,  on  condition  that  the  Society  whose  interests 
lie  nearest  to  that  particular  place  agrees  to  assume  all 
responsibilities  of  management ;  and  it  also  pays  for  the  cost 
of  the  inmates'  board  in  all  the  leper  refuges  connected  with 
it.  Besides  this,  it  endeavours  to  make  use  of  every  existing 
or  newly  erected  refuge  for  the  purpose  of  exercising  its  own 
special  task,  the  supplying  of  the  lepers  with  the  Word  of 
God.  But  with  what  a  gradation  and  variety  of  refuges  for 
lepers  the  Society  finds  itself  confronted !  We  give  only  a 
few  typical  instances,  as  a  visit  to  them  all  would  carry  us 
too  far  and  would  prove  fatiguing  because  of  its  uniformity. 

Half  a  mile  from  the  famous  pilgrim  shrine  of  Baidyanath 
or  Ueogarh  in  Bengal  there  is  a  public  leper  asylum  consisting 
of  three  well-built  houses;  a  "bhisti"  draws  water,  a  "mehtar" 
attends  to  the  cleaning^ — these  are  the  sole  domestics  on  the 
place.  There  is  no  "  chaukidar "  (overseer)  to  insist  on  fair 
play,  no  doctor  or  medical  assistant  binds  up  their  wounds : 
both  sexes  live  together  just  as  they  like.  Their  daily  rations 
consist  of  one  pound  of  rice,  two  and  a  half  ounces  of  lentils, 
a  little  salt,  and — a  halfpenny!  If  they  need  anything  more 
they  must  beg  for  it.  We  can  easily  understand  that  when 
Miss  Adams  (American  Methodist  Episcopal  Church)  and 
her  Bible  woman  visited  this  place  they  had  the  greatest 
difficulty  in  the  world  in  making  themselves  heard  amid  these 
ragged  hordes  of  beggars. 

At  Sehore  in  Bhopal  in  July  1891  the  Begam  -  ordered  all 
lepers  to  be  interned  in  a  barn-like  building  situated  on  some 
rising  ground.  A  "chaukidar"  was  appointed  to  watch  them 
as  if  they  were  prisoners.  Men  and  women  were  lodged  in 
two  separate  courtyards.  Members  of  the  various  religious 
denominations  were  permitted  to  take  an  interest  in  the 
lepers  or  not,  just  as  they  pleased.     Was  it  any  wonder  that 

^  It  is  well  known  that  each  caste  will  only  perform  its  own  particular  duties. 
We  may  here  mention  that  the  series  of  pictures  given  in  the  text  are  selected 
from  varying  periods  within  the  last  twenty  years.  The  Mission  to  Lepers  has 
gone  so  enthusiastically  to  work  in  the  erection  and  improvement  of  leper  asylums 
that  most  of  the  modest  shelters  put  up  at  the  beginning  have  been  replaced  within 
a  few  years  by  substantial  buildings. 

2  It  should  be  stated  that  even  this  provision  was  furnished  at  the  entreaty  of 
Colonel  Wylic,  the  truly  Christian  Political  Agent  for  Central  Bhopal,  and  that 
some  of  the  funds  for  the  building  were  obtained  by  Colonel  Wylie  from  England. 
— Translator's  Note. 


MISSIONARY  ORGANISATION  359 

Charles  D.  Terrell,  a  Quaker  missionary,  should  at  first  be 
looked  on  with  suspicion  and  his  efforts  to  get  a  catechist 
appointed  to  the  asylum  be  regarded  from  a  standpoint  we 
may  almost  characterise  as  hostile?  But  Christian  love  and 
patience  gained  the  day  ;  Mi'.  Terrell  succeeded  in  winning 
the  confidence  of  the  unfortunate  lepers,  and  soon  a  small 
nucleus  of  Christians  was  formed. 

The  town  of  Saharanpur  in  the  United  Provinces  built 
an  asylum  for  male  lepers  and  another  for  females  on  opposite 
sides  of  the  town.  But  what  a  state  they  were  in  !  The  houses 
v/ere  almost  in  ruins,  there  was  no  "bhisti"  to  carry  water, 
ro  "  mehtar  "  to  clean  the  premises,  no  doctor  for  the  sick  ;  and  as 
tae  two  rupees  eight  annas  paid  monthly  for  their  board  was 
inadequate,  the  lepers  were  forced  to  go  out  and  beg  to  avoid 
starvation.  Under  such  circumstances  it  was  a  splendid  thing 
when  a  competent  teacher,  a  leper  himself  from  the  Almora 
Hospital,  came  to  establish  law  and  order  at  the  asylum  for 
rr.en — himself  the  only  Christian  amongst  them — and  to  reveal 
lijht  and  comfort  to  them  from  the  Word  of  God.  And 
Er.  Forman  (American  Presbyterian)  did  quite  right  in 
endeavouring  to  gain  complete  missionary  control  for  the  two 
asylums. 

The  Baba  Laikhan  settlement  in  the  same  neighbourhood 
was  far  better  fitted  up ;  although  it  only  gave  shelter  to  forty 
lepers,  it  had  a  complete  staff:  a  native  doctor,  a  "  dhobi  "  (washer 
cf  linen),  a"mali"  (gardener),  a  "bhisti,"a  "mehtar,"  and  a''bania" 
(buyer  in).  Each  leper  received  sufficient  aid :  three  rupees 
eight  annas  per  mensem,  and  in  addition  vegetables  and 
clothing  materials.  There  was  a  drug  store  and  even  a  tiny 
mosque — thirty-two  of  the  patients  being  Muhammadans. 
In  this  case,  however,  there  was  a  responsible  governing  body 
and  Christian  work  could  be  undertaken  systematically.  Rev. 
Dr.  Martin  (American  United  Presbyterian)  was  its  Super- 
intendent, and  a  Christian  teacher  and  his  wife  visited  the 
asylum  daily. 

Far  larger  was  the  leper  settlement  under  Government 
inspection  near  Tarn  Taran  in  the  Punjab.  Here  the  wise  step 
had  been  taken  of  erecting  three  separate  rows  of  buildings  for 
Hindus,  Muhammadans,  and  Christians.  At  first  the  native 
doctor  refused  to  hear  of  admitting  Christians  to  the  settlement. 
They  were  either  denied  admission  or  told  to  renounce  their 
faith.  They  had  the  courage  to  answer,  "  We  will  not  and  we 
cannot  deny  Christ,"  and  in  the  end  their  application  was 
accepted.  The  Edinburgh  Society  concerned  itself  with  these 
Christian  lepers  and  built  them  a  small  church  ;  Rev.  E.  Guilford 
(C.M.S.)  regularly  taught  them  from  the  Word  of  God.     In  1903 


36o  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

the  Punjab  Government  made  over  the  entire  leper  colony  to 
the  direction  of  the  Edinburgh  Society,  and  enabled  it  to 
entirely  rebuild  the  settlement.  The  imposing  new  leper  hospital 
was  inaugurated  on  April  9th,  1904. 

A  model  institution  is  that  erected  by  the  Municipality  of 
Bombay  at  IMatunga  in  1891.  It  was  highly  necessary  at 
Bombay.  The  lepers  had  taken  possession  of  the  Dharmsala 
Poorhouse,  and  here  in  filth  and  immorality  they  led  a  comfortless 
beggar's  life.  Just  at  the  right  time,  however,  a  Parsi,  Sir 
Dinshaw  Petit,  placed  a  considerable  sum  at  the  disposal  of  the 
city  authorities  for  the  express  purpose  of  erecting  a  municipal 
leper  settlement.  This  asylum  soon  contained  three  hundred 
lepers.  It  is  well  ventilated,  serviceably  fitted  up  with  seven  siov 
wards  and  a  hospital  for  advanced  cases ;  a  native  doctor  is  in 
charge.  The  Leper  Mission  found,  however,  considerable  diffi- 
culties in  commencing  operations  here.  The  Muhammadans 
had  their  mosque,  the  Hindus  a  temple,  the  Roman  Catholics 
a  chapel  in  which  mass  is  regularly  celebrated  by  a  priest.  But 
there  was  only  one  Protestant  leper  in  the  place.  Happily  lie 
was  an  old  teacher,  and  as  the  Christians  held  together  he  was 
able  to  start  a  school  for  the  children.  A  Bible  woman  attached 
to  the  American  Board  goes  every  week  to  minister  to  the  women 
and  to  strengthen  the  hands  of  the  teacher  in  his  difficult  calling. 

Far  more  beautiful  for  situation — one  might  almost  call  it 
ideal  were  it  not  for  the  desperate  condition  of  those  for  whom 
it  is  built — is  the  Maclaren  Settlement  for  Lepers  in  Dehra  Du:i 
at  the  foot  of  the  Himalayas.  Three  Government  doctors 
deserve  the  credit  for  the  erection  and  equipment  of  this 
model  institution ;  it  bears  the  name  of  the  first  of  them.  It 
is  an  extensive  settlement  with  pretty,  airy  wooden  houses, 
Behind  there  stretches  a  large  garden  with  all  kinds  of  fruit 
trees  and  vegetables  ;  the  paths  and  flower-beds  are  bordered 
with  tea  shrubs  which  in  some  cases  rise  to  the  height  of 
hedges  ;  across  the  various  watercourses  are  thrown  handsome 
stone  bridges.  And  the  centre  of  the  whole  establishment  is  a 
neat,  spotless  kitchen,  in  which  a  faithful  leper  catechist  daily 
conducts  morning  prayers  and  later  in  the  day  a  school. 
Ullmann,  a  missionary  of  the  American  Presbyterians,  took  a 
deep  interest  in  the  patients  and,  as  long  as  his  strength 
allowed,  conducted  worship  amongst  them  every  Sabbath. 
Pastor  Bose,  a  native  minister  who  has  the  special  pastoral 
charge  of  the  institution,  was  to  be  seen  almost  daily  in  the 
huts  of  the  lepers.  It  was  no  wonder  that  55  of  the 
135  patients  came  over  to  Christianity.  Such  a  settlement 
as  this  is  only  possible  under  European  management.  For 
many    years    an    unhappy    English    leper,    a    true    Christian, 


MISSIONARY  ORGANISATION  361 

Mr.  Jackson,  superintended  the  establishment.  He  had  been 
taught  by  his  own  heavy  cross  to  devote  himself  to  tireless 
service  amongst  his  miserable  fellow-sufferers.^ 

More  uniform  and  regular  in  its  essential  features  is  the 
work  in  the  leper  asylums  which  the  Mission  to  Lepers  has 
either  built  or  which  it  maintains  in  connection  with  other 
missionary  societies.  It  has  always  followed  the  principle  of 
never  beginning  operations  where  a  missionary  society  is  not 
already  at  work  or  does  not  declare  itself  prepared  to  assume 
responsibility  for  the  management  of  an  asylum.  Nevertheless, 
we  find  in  these  missionary  establishments  almost  the  same 
diversity  and  almost  the  same  gradation  from  a  primitive  refuge 
to  a  fully  equipped  institution  as  in  the  buildings  owned  by  the 
Government.  Here  too  we  will  give  a  few  sketches  at  random 
of  the  development  of  various  well-known  mission  settlements 
during  the  last  twenty  years.  All  these  settlements  have  rapidly 
reached  their  present  stage  of  development  from  the  most 
modest  beginnings. 

Two  native  preachers,  the  brothers  Scott  (American  Reformed 
Presbyterians),  discovered  in  a  mango  grove  near  Muzaffarnagar 
in  the  United  Provinces  a  crowd  of  lepers,  who  had  pur- 
chased the  right  to  settle  in  the  grove  though  nobody  took 
any  interest  in  them ;  they  maintained  a  miserable  existence 
by  begging.  The  Mission  to  Lepers  began  first  of  all  with 
an  attempt  to  win  their  confidence  by  making  them  a  regular 
monetary  contribution  and  by  appointing  a  medical  assistant 
to  bind  up  their  wounds.  This  was  a  preparation  for  the 
Christian  instruction  which  the  Scotts  and  one  of  their  native 
helpers  imparted  to  them  in  the  mango  grove  until  it  was 
possible  to  build  at  least  hastily  constructed  huts. 

At  the  above-mentioned  shrine  of  Baidyanath,  where  there 
were  always  large  numbers  of  lounging  beggar  lepers,  Miss 
Adams  (American  Methodist  Episcopalian)  had  built  with  her 
own  hands  two  small  clay  huts  under  the  shadow  of  a  large 
tree,  in  order  to  provide  scanty  accommodation  for  half  a  dozen 
sick  folk.  She  provided  her  charges  with  food  and  clothing,  and 
with  her  Bible  woman  preached  to  them  faithfully  and  convinc- 
ingly the  Word  of  God.  Here  we  have  at  any  rate  the  germ  of 
a  missionary  settlement  for  lepers. 

In  the  Colaba  district,  to  the  south  of  Bombay,  a  native 
pastor,  J.  Bawa  (American  Board),  was  deeply  touched  by  the 
misery  of  the  lepers,  and  with  the  help  of  sums  of  money 
received  from  the  Mission  to  Lepers  he  constructed  two  small 
asylums  at  Pui  and  Poladpur.  They  were  certainly  of  the  very 
simplest  character.  At  Pui  a  single  tile-covered  house,  standing 
^  In  the  end  he  succumbed  to  his  malady  there. 


362  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

in  a  two-acre  plot  surrounded  by  neither  fence  nor  wall,  con- 
tained a  double  row  of  five  rooms  opening  on  to  verandahs. 
One  side  was  for  men,  the  other  for  women.  Weak  as  they 
were,  the  poor  lepers  planted  and  sowed  a  portion  of  the  land 
surrounding  the  house.  Bawa  looked  after  his  patients  most 
faithfully  ;  they  received  all  that  was  necessary  for  their  support, 
and  the  gospel  was  preached  to  them  with  power. 

At  other  places  no  such  small  beginning  could  be  made. 
At  Chandkuri  and  Raipur  in  the  Central  Provinces,  within 
the  sphere  of  the  German  Evangelical  Missionary  Society  of 
America,  the  famine  of  the  year  1897  had  brought  hundreds 
of  lepers  to  the  verge  of  starvation.  At  Raipur,  167  lepers  and 
40  untainted  children  were  lodged  in  a  temporary  almshouse, 
and  received  a  scanty  modicum  of  subsistence  at  the  hands  of 
the  Government.  But  the  Government  did  not  want  them 
permanently  on  its  hands,  and  they  were  just  on  the  point  of 
being  turned  out  upon  the  roads  when  the  Mission  to  Lepers 
declared  its  readiness  to  take  over  the  entire  almshouse  with 
its  207  inmates  and  to  change  it  into  a  missionary  shelter.  The 
Mission  could  not  conscientiously  allow  so  many  invalids  to 
slide  back  into  a  condition  of  vagabondage.  Under  the 
energetic  superintendence  of  German  American  missionaries 
(particularly  of  Rev.  Carl  Nottrott)  this  refuge  rapidly  grew 
into  one  of  the  largest  and  best  directed  in  India;  according  to 
the  latest  statistics  (December  1905)  it  contained  430  patients. 

These  were  missionary  settlements  in  the  making ;  they 
bore  the  marks  of  the  storm  and  stress  of  necessity  upon  them. 
But  such  settlements  wear  a  very  different  appearance  when 
they  have  developed  under  careful  superintendence.  Almora 
and  Chandag  (Pithora)  both  lie  in  Kumaon  on  the  slopes  of 
the  Himalayas.  Both  are  old  leper  settlements  :  Almora  was  as 
long  ago  as  1850  under  the  direction  of  the  L.M.S.,  Pithora 
Chandag  1  has  been  under  the  Methodist  Episcopalians  since 
1 886.  Both  have  an  interesting  history  behind  them.  At  Almora 
— the  settlement  is  two  miles  away  from  the  mission  station  of 
the  same  name — the  word  preached  by  Budden  and  his  assist- 
ants seemed  for  long  years  to  make  no  impression.  The 
miserable  lepers  were  dull  and  obstinate — not  until  1864  was  the 
first  convert,  Musuwa,  baptized  ;  but  he  was  a  real  gem,  was 
soundly  converted,  and  worked  with  tireless  energy  for  his 
Master  until  his  death  (1891).  With  his  faithful  assistance  and 
that  of  a  splendid  "  chaukidar,"  Bond,  a  strong  and  healthy 
Christian  atmosphere  was  gradually  created  in  the  asylum.  Of 
the  113  present  inmates,  109  are  Christians.     The  settlement 

1  The  Methodist  Episcopalian  mission  station  is  called  Pithora  or  Pithoragarh  ; 
the  leper  settlement  is  at  Chandag,  some  two  and  a  half  miles  distant. 


MISSIONARY  ORGANISATION  363 

gives  the  impression  of  a  Christian  hamlet  in  the  most  exquisite 
natural  surroundings.  Coming  across  from  Almora  mission 
station,  one  passes  through  the  entrance  gate  up  a  shady  path 
bordered  on  both  sides  with  grass  plots  and  leading  to  the  church. 
The  houses  of  the  lepers  lie  in  ranks  along  the  edge  of  the  hill, 
and  behind  them  tower  up  on  every  side  the  snow-capped  peaks 
of  the  Himalayas. 

Chandag  was  founded  by  that  passionately  devoted  mis- 
sionary Rev.  Mr.  Kirk  in  1886;  he  himself  went  to  live  in  the 
settlement  in  order  to  dwell  amongst  the  lepers,  to  relieve 
their  wounds  and  to  bury  their  dead.  Unfortunately,  he  died 
that  same  year,  1886,  just  as  he  was  collecting  money  for  the 
erection  of  a  little  church  in  his  settlement.  For  a  long  time 
Miss  Mary  Reed,^  a  noble  and  devoted  American  lady 
missionary,  lived  and  worked  here.  She  herself  became  tainted 
with  leprosy,  and  for  ten  years  past  she  has  devoted  herself  to 
attendance  on  her  comrades  in  suffering.  Under  her  splendid 
management  the  refuge  has  grown  and  prospered.  Sixty-four 
of  its  eighty-one  inmates  have  become  Christians.  A  native 
pastor  and  three  lady  missionaries  from  Pithora  stood  by  her 
in  dark  days. 

^  The  history  of  Mary  Reed  is  so  charming  that  we  must  at  least  say  a  few  words 
about  it  here.  Born  in  the  village  of  Lowell  in  Ohio,  Miss  Reed  was  early  converted 
to  God,  and  soon  felt  a  desire  to  enter  the  missionary  service.  In  the  year  1884  she 
went  out  to  Cawnpore  as  a  teacher  under  the  Episcopal  Methodists  and  worked  there 
for  four  years.  As  her  health  was  far  from  satisfactory,  she  was  transferred  to  the 
Girls'  Institution  at  Gonda,  where  the  climate  is  less  oppressive  ;  but  in  1890  she 
was  compelled  to  return  to  North  America  with  shattered  health.  She  entered  a 
Deaconesses'  Hospital  belonging  to  her  Church  at  Cincinnati  and  underwent  several 
operations,  without,  however,  receiving  any  benefit.  Nobody  could  tell  what  was  the 
matter  with  her.  Then  there  came  a  day  in  April  1891,  as  she  lay  alone  on  her 
sick  bed,  when  the  thought  struck  her:  "What  if  her  malady  should  be  the  early 
stages  of  leprosy?"  She  did  not  dare  to  give  the  thought  expression,  but  asked  for 
medical  books  in  order  to  gain  information.  The  more  she  read  the  more  convinced 
she  became.  She  sent  for  \he  Secretary  of  the  Women's  Missionary  Society  to  which 
she  belonged  and  imparted  to  her  her  fears.  Through  her  agency  she  was  examined 
by  several  of  the  most  distinguished  medical  men  of  New  York  and  London,  and 
the  result  was  that  her  conjectures  were  confirmed  on  all  hands — she  was  a  leper. 
She  did  not  dare  to  inform  her  parents  of  the  dreadful  fact,  and  only  a  favourite 
sister  shared  her  secret ;  but  her  mind  was  at  once  made  up.  During  a  hoHday 
excursion  to  Pithora  she  had  visited  the  Leper  Hospital  at  Chandag,  and  she  resolved 
to  go  there.  She  would  pass  the  rest  of  her  life  among  her  companions  in  tribula- 
tion :  possibly  she  might  be  able  to  be  of  some  use  to  them.  Without  bidding  fare- 
well to  anybody,  she  hastened  back  to  India  as  fast  as  possible ;  only  when  she 
arrived  in  Bombay  did  she  write  full  particulars  to  her  parents.  From  that  time  she 
lived  in  quiet  retirement  at  the  Chandag  Refuge.  Much  prayer  has  been  offered  for 
her  and  God  has  helped  her  in  a  marvellous  fashion.  All  outward  signs  of  leprosy 
have  disappeared  ;  she  is  as  active  and  cheerful  as  a  healthy  person.  She  has  learnt 
to  bow  in  humility  under  the  chastening  hand  of  God  and  to  bear  her  heavy  cross 
with  submission.  Quite  recently  a  number  of  doctors  have  agreed  that,  as  far  as 
human  knowledge  goes,  Mary  Reed  is  healed  of  her  leprosy  ...  a  most  exceptional 
case.  Nevertheless,  she  has  remained  in  that  neighbourhood,  the  mountainous 
regions  of  Kumaon,  and  is  now  working  among  the  people  on  the  Tibetan  frontier. 


364  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

Still  larger  and  showing  a  more  elaborate  development  is 
the  settlement  founded  in  1888  at  Purulia,  a  station  belonging 
to  Gossner's  Mission  ;  it  is  the  model  settlement  of  the  Mission  to 
Lepers.  Rev.  Mr.  Uffmann,  the  missionary  there,  was  led  to  take 
up  this  particular  branch  of  missionary  work  by  a  strange  disposi- 
tion of  providence  :  his  eldest  daughter,  whom  he  had  sent  home 
to  Germany  to  be  educated,  caught  leprosy  in  Berlin,  and  after 
great  sufferings  died  there  in  the  Elizabeth  Hospital.  Since 
then  he  has  entirely  dedicated  himself  to  work  among  the  lepers, 
and  his  Society  has  left  him  a  free  hand  in  the  matter.  Under 
his  splendid  direction  the  refuge  at  Purulia  developed  in  less 
than  10  years  into  a  large  village  of  524  inhabitants.  There 
are  9  men's  houses  with  28  rooms,  and  8  women's  houses 
with  25  rooms  ;  every  room  is  14  feet  square  and  intended 
for  4  persons.  Besides  this,  there  are  houses  for  the  native 
doctor,  whom  the  Mission  to  Lepers  has  installed  to  give 
special  attention  to  the  sick,  for  the  "  chaukidar,"  one  for 
boys,  another  for  girls,  a  shop,  a  school,  a  chapel,  a  drug 
store,  with  special  accommodation  for  those  who  are  very  ill. 
Here,  too,  they  had  the  joy  of  finding  the  first  convert  in  the 
establishment,  Shidam  Banwar  (christened  Christaram,  or  "  Rest 
in  Christ"),  a  zealous  and  faithful  man  ;  he  died  triumphant  in 
the  faith  in  1890.  His  example  also  paved  the  way  in  this 
settlement  for  many  who  afterwards  came  to  Christ ;  478  of 
the  639  who  were  received  in  the  settlement  during  the  years 
1 888-1 895  accepted  Christianity,  and  the  present  inmates  are 
almost  all  Christians.  It  is  the  largest  leper  settlement  in 
India.  At  the  present  time  it  has  716  inmates;  and  the 
Government  of  Bengal  has  erected  a  state  settlement  in  affilia- 
tion therewith  which  is  likewise  under  the  direction  of  the 
Gossner  Missionary  Society.  Also  with  regard  to  arrangements 
for  children  who  have  become  tainted  with  the  disease  and 
those  who  are  still  free  from  it,  the  Purulia  settlement  is  a 
model  of  its  kind. 

The  refuges  under  the  Mission  to  Lepers  are  as  far  as  possible 
managed  on  uniform  principles.  The  lepers  find  their  own  food 
and  receive  5s.  a  month.  The  houses  are  one  storey  high  ;  they 
are  generally  constructed  for  only  two  or  four  persons,  so  that 
every  appearance  of  barrack  life  may  be  avoided.  For  every 
refuge  some  reliable  Christian  is  chosen  as  "  chaukidar,"  a 
leprous  catechist  as  teacher,  and  if  possible  a  few  tried  Christians 
to  serve  as  leaders  amongst  the  rest  and  to  create  a  dominating 
Christian  atmosphere  in  the  settlement.  Every  superintending 
officer  and  teacher,  whether  European  or  native,  is  required  to 
suppress  all  appearance  of  aversion  or  disgust  in  his  intercourse 
with  the  lepers,  and  to  enter  their  huts  and  mingle  freely  with 


MISSIONARY  ORGANISATION  365 

them.  As  far  as  possible,  efforts  are  made  to  keep  the  sexes 
separate ;  this,  however,  is  by  no  means  so  stringently  enforced 
nowadays  as  formerly,  since  it  has  been  proved  that  marriages 
between  lepers  are  sterile,  and  that  leprosy  in  itself  is  not 
hereditary.  The  separation  of  tainted  and  healthy  children  is 
of  greater  importance  than  that  of  the  sexes.  It  is  a  binding 
principle  of  the  Mission  to  Lepers  that  in  connection  with  all  the 
larger  settlements,  homes  for  these  untainted  children  shall  be 
provided. 

To-day  Mr.  Bailey  is  able  to  testify  with  thankfulness  to  God 
that  not  one  of  the  numerous  European  and  native  helpers  who 
have  been  appointed  to  serve  in  these  settlements  has  ever  con- 
tracted the  appalling  disease. 

According  to  statistics  drawn  up  by  the  author  in  the  year 
1899,  evangelical  missions  in  India  were  at  that  time  working 
in  forty-two  settlements — inclusive  of  two  at  Colombo  and 
Mandalay — of  which  sixteen  belonged  to  the  Edinburgh 
Mission  to  Lepers  and  eight  to  other  missionary  societies  that 
were,  however,  supported  by  the  Mission  to  Lepers.  In  the  years 
that  have  elapsed  since  then  the  number  has  increased  consider- 
ably. The  newest  list  of  stations  belonging  to  the  Mission  to 
Lepers  reckons  forty-two  settlements  as  belonging  to  the 
Edinburgh  Society  and  eighteen  as  being  supported  by  it ;  in 
these,  besides  500  children  who  are  free  from  disease,  5225 
lepers  are  being  cared  for,  and  of  this  number  2779  ^^^  Christians. 
This  great  work  of  Christian  love,  the  self-sacrifice  and  devotion 
of  which  even  the  heathen  appreciate  and  admire,  is  one  of  the 
stars  in  the  crown  of  a  great  and  noble  band  of  men  and  women 
who  are  united  together  in  imitation  of  Him  who  came  to  seek 
and  to  save  that  which  was  lost. 


CHAPTER  VI 

THE  LEAVEN  AT  WORK 

The  deeply  religious  nature  of  the  Hindus  is  emphatically 
demonstrated  by  the  fact  that  religious  movements  have  sprung 
up  in  India  during  every  century.  Many  of  them  have  been 
evoked  by  the  yawning  gulf  which  separates  popular  idolatry 
from  the  sublime  philosophy  of  the  theological  schools :  on  the 
one  hand,  there  is  the  crass,  gross,  and,  among  the  lowest  classes, 
absolutely  fetich-like  worship  of  idols,  lingams,  sacred  trees, 
stones,  rivers,  ponds,  and  so  forth ;  on  the  other,  the  subtle 
hypercriticism  and  the  hair-splitting  dialectic  niceties  of  the 
Vedanta  and  Sankhya  systems  of  philosophy  or  of  the  systems 
of  logic.  In  view  of  these  extremes,  thoughtful  spirits  have  from 
time  to  time  been  moved  to  attempt  the  reformation  of  the 
profane  tendency  of  popular  idolatry,  and  have  founded  divers 
sects.  Other  religious  movements  have  been  the  outcome  of 
contact  with  other  systems  of  religion.  Long  centuries  after 
Buddhism,  originally  a  product  of  Indian  soil,  had  been  expelled, 
its  influence  remained  potent  in  India,  simply  because  its  great 
fundamental  ideas  blossomed  forth  into  new  sectarian  forma- 
tions, most  of  them  having  a  decided  anti-caste  bias.  Islam, 
which  has  pressed  forward  from  the  North- West  in  an  ever- 
conquering  march  from  the  eleventh  century  down  to  the  present 
day,  has  by  no  means  won  all  its  victories  at  the  sword's  point. 
Among  a  race  so  naturally  receptive  to  religious  influence  as  the 
Hindus,  it  was  not  long  before  more  or  less  important  attempts 
were  in  progress  to  blend  Hindu  conceptions  of  truth  with 
those  of  the  new  religion,  and  especially  with  the  latter's  pro- 
nounced monotheism.  The  Kabirpanthi  sect  in  the  eastern 
provinces  of  India  and  the  Sikhism  of  Guru  Nanak  in  the 
Punjab  are  historically  the  two  most  remarkable  composites  of 
this  kind. 

It  was  inevitable,  therefore,  that  contact  with  the  Christian 
civilisation  of  the  West,  which  has  been  growing  in  intensity 
decade  by  decade,  notably  as  the  consequence  of  the  increas- 
ingly popular  preaching  and  educational  work  of  the  agents  of 

366 


THE  LEAVEN  AT  WORK  367 

Christianity,  should  result  in  movements  of  a  like  nature 
amongst  the  Hindu  population.  No  Hindu  can  attend  a 
mission  school  without  having  his  faith  deeply  shaken,  even  if 
he  do  not  lose  it  altogether.  Their  orthodox  ideas  about 
astronomy  are  simply  ridiculous ;  their  history  pullulates  with 
kings  thirty  feet  high,  who  reign  for  30,000  years ;  their 
geography  tells  of  Milk  Seas,  Butter  Seas,  Ghi  Seas,  and  so  on. 
All  that  is  at  once  swept  away  for  a  youth  who  has  acquired 
the  veriest  rudiments  of  European  education.  But  a  Hindu  is 
as  a  rule  far  too  religious  by  nature  to  rest  satisfied  for  long 
with  this  negative  attitude.  Contact  with  the  new  civilisation 
and  the  new  religion  sets  in  motion  amongst  the  people  a 
process  of  intellectual  fermentation.  This  is  not  exclusively 
owing  to  the  influence  of  missions,  but  they  undoubtedly  have 
a  considerable  share  in  calling  forth  and  stimulating  such  a 
process,  and  missionaries  feel  the  liveliest  interest  in  its 
development  and  final  outcome. 

Now  there  have  been  minor  movements  to  be  attributed 
more  or  less  directly  to  Christian  influences  observable  in 
almost  every  part  of  India  during  the  nineteenth  century,  and 
we  meet  them  again  and  again  in  the  course  of  a  tour  through 
certain  mission  districts :  such  are  the  sects  of  the  Satnamis  in 
Central  India,  the  Daud  Birsa  movement  in  Chota  Nagpur,  the 
followers  of  Chet  Ram  in  the  Punjab,  and  many  others.  But 
whilst  these  local  sect  formations  are  for  the  most  part  a 
confused  and  arbitrary  blending  of  Christianity  and  Hinduism, 
with  perhaps  the  addition  of  various  Muhammadan  ideas,  our 
attention  is  at  once  directed  to  a  movement  with  which  many 
of  the  most  distinguished  and  highly  educated  personalities  of 
Bengal  are  associated,  the  Brahmo  Samaj. 


I.  The  Brahmo  Samaj 

Its  founder  was  the  noble,  learned,  and  deeply  religious 
Ram  Mohan  Roy.^  Born  of  a  Brahman  family  in  the 
Murshidabad  district  in  1774,  and  splendidly  educated  at  the 
Muhammadan  College  at  Patna  and  in  the  very  citadel  of 
Hinduism  at  Benares,  his  heart,  which  had  been  early  in  life 
repelled  from  the  idolatry  of  the  people,  was  ever  engaged  in 
a  passionate  quest  for  truth  and  for  deeper  religious  knowledge. 
He  went  to  Tibet  to  study  Buddhism  at  its  fountain-head  and 
to  study  its  oldest  literary  documents.  He  learnt  Greek  and 
Hebrew  that  he  might  read  the  Bible  in  the  original  tongues, 
and  the   sublime   conceptions  of  that  holy  Book   exercised  a 

1  G.  Smith,  Alexander  Duff,  popular  edition,  p.  59  ei  seq. 


368  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

deep  and  permanent  influence  upon  him.  After  many  years' 
faithful  service  of  the  English  as  a  civil  servant,  during  which 
time  his  incorruptible  character  won  him  the  respect  of  a  wide 
circle  of  acquaintance,  he  retired  in  1814  to  Calcutta,  in  order 
to  devote  the  rest  of  his  life  to  religious  research  and  pious 
meditation.  Once  every  week  he  gathered  the  Brahmans  and 
all  of  an  inquiring  mind  about  him  in  one  of  the  busiest  streets 
of  the  city  and  discussed  with  them  the  worthlessness  of  religion 
as  practised  by  the  great  masses  of  the  people,  the  decadence 
of  Hindu  society,  and  the  necessity  for  reform  throughout 
Hinduism.  Of  course  he  met  with  opposition  and  made  many 
bitter  enemies.  Gradually,  however,  he  gathered  a  circle  of 
real  friends  and  eager  pupils  anxious  and  ready  to  learn. 
These  he  formed  into  a  reform  association  which  went  by  various 
names:  in  1814  the  "  Atmaya  Sabha,"  in  1816  the  "  Brahmaya 
Sabha,"  in  1820  the  "Unitarian  Church,"  in  1828  the  "  Vedantist 
Society,"  and  since  1830  the  "  Brahmo  Samaj  "  or  "  Theistic 
Society."  He  had  no  thought  of  becoming  a  Christian,  nor  did 
he  cease  to  wear  his  Brahmanical  knot  up  to  his  death.  He 
believed,  on  the  contrary,  that  he  had  rediscovered  Christian 
monotheism  in  the  Vedas  (the  Upanishads),  and  intended,  much 
as  Luther  had  done  with  regard  to  the  Romish  Church,  to  cleanse 
Hinduism  from  the  multiple  accretions  of  latter-day  religious 
degeneracy  and  to  lead  it  back  to  the  pristine  beauty  of  the 
Vedic  religion.  As  a  social  reformer  he  took  an  important 
part  in  the  agitation  against  the  suttee,  and  showed  how  that 
this  cruel  custom  was  not  founded  on  the  Vedas.  He  is  also 
to  be  remembered  as  one  of  the  first  of  Dr.  Duff's  supporters 
when  that  fiery  young  Scot  founded  his  college  in  1830.  Soon 
after  that  Roy  went  with  a  political  mission  to  England,  where 
he  excited  widespread  interest  both  by  his  perfect  education 
and  his  friendly  attitude  towards  Christianity.  But  he  could 
not  stand  the  English  climate,  and  died  in  Bristol  on  Sep- 
tember 27th,  1833,  confessing  even  on  his  death-bed  his  belief 
in  the  divinity  of  the  mission  of  Jesus  and  in  His  miracles. 
He  has  been  called  the  "Erasmus  of  India";  certainly  he 
rendered  true  Erasmus-like  service  by  the  anonymous  publica- 
tion in  1820  of  his  work  The  Precepts  of  Jesus,  the  Way  to  Peace 
and  Happiness.  He  ordained  in  the  statutes  of  the  Brahmo 
Samaj  that  no  idol  should  ever  be  placed  in  its  assembly-room 
nor  sacrifice  be  offered  up  in  connection  therewith.  But,  how- 
ever susceptible  he  may  have  been  to  Christian  influences,  he 
remained  to  the  very  end  a  great  way  off  from  the  decisive 
step  of  embracing  the  Christian  faith.  The  number  of  his 
actual  disciples  was  always  small.  At  his  death  there  were  said 
to  be  twelve  of  them.    His  most  remarkable  capture  was  Adams, 


THE  LEAVEN  AT  WORK  369 

a  Baptist  missionary — the   "  second  fallen    Adam,"  as   he  was 
jestingly  called  in  Calcutta. 

After  Roy's  death  the  movement  threatened  to  come  to  a 
standstill.  It  was  then  that  Srimat  Maharishi  Debendranath 
Tagara  (generally  written  "  Tagore  ")  identified  himself  with  it 
and  became  its  leader.  Born  at  Calcutta  in  18 17,  he  had  lost 
all  faith  in  the  Hindu  gods  whilst  still  a  student  at  the  Hindu 
College,  but  had  never  come  under  the  influence  of  Christian 
missionaries.  Hungering  and  thirsting  for  religious  enlighten- 
ment, he  had  founded  in  1838  a  "  Tatwabodhini  Sabha,"  or 
"  Truth-teaching  Society."  This  society  he  amalgamated  with 
the  Brahmo  Samaj  in  1841.  Like  Roy,  he  thought  he  had  found 
pure  divine  monotheism  in  the  Vedas.  This  error  had  been 
both  possible  and  excusable  so  long  as  the  Vedas  were  little 
known  and  not  studied  scientifically.  But  now  Dr.  Duff  chal- 
lenged the  Brahmo  Samaj  to  a  great  literary  contest,  started  in 
the  pages  of  his  own  journal.  The  Calcutta  Review,  to  thoroughly 
investigate  and  abandon  this  untenable  thesis.  Dr.  Tagore 
himself  entered  upon  long  and  minute  research  in  connection 
with  the  affair,  and  was  honourable  enough  to  admit  his  error, 
and  therewith  to  relinquish  the  divine  authority  of  the  Vedas 
(1850).  He  then  sought  to  lay  as  the  foundations  of  his  Society 
intuitive  perception,  or,  to  express  it  differently,  perception  of 
the  religious  understanding;  and  he  studied  with  equal  dili- 
gence the  European  philosophers,  Kant,  Fichte,  Cousin,  Spencer, 
and  Mill,  and  the  religious  writings  of  the  Hindus  and  the 
Sufis.  The  only  book  he  neglected  was  the  Bible.  With  all 
this,  however,  he  was  conservative  to  the  backbone,  clung  with 
sincere  affection  to  India's  great  past,  and  strove  to  remain  a 
true  Hindu  to  the  end. 

Since  1858,  however,  this  conservative  current  has  been 
stemmed  by  a  strongly  progressive  tendency,  mainly  under  the 
influence  of  Babu  Keshub  Chunder  Sen,  who  joined  the  Brahmo 
Samaj  in  1858.  Born  in  1838  of  wealthy  and  orthodox  parents 
of  the  Vaidya  caste,  he  was  educated  as  a  boy  in  all  the  traditions 
of  Vaishnavite  piety.  Whilst  a  student  of  Presidency  College, 
however,  he  lost  all  confidence  in  Hinduism,  and  submitted  him- 
self to  Christian  influences,  being  a  regular  attender  for  years  at 
a  Bible  class  conducted  by  one  of  the  Government  chaplains. 
Although  he  never  thoroughly  studied  the  ancient  sacred 
literature  of  his  own  country,  the  Bible  early  in  life  became  to 
him  the  first  of  books,  and  concerning  it  he  penned  the  follow- 
ing enthusiastic  words :  "  It  is  to  me  a  home  of  blessing  to 
which  I  may  ever  retire,  it  is  the  Word  of  Life  in  which  I  find 
the  echo  of  all  that  I  consider  to  be  the  most  precious  treasure 
of  my  life." 
24 


370  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

Even  as  a  schoolboy  he  had  visions  of  John  the  Baptist,  of 
Christ,  and  of  Paul ;  and  after  long  struggle,  and  much  prayer, 
a  flood  of  inward  illumination  was  vouchsafed  to  him,  bringing 
him  peace.  In  the  Samaj  he  soon  won  a  position  of  influence, 
being  consecrated  acharya,  or  priest,  in  1862,  and  later  appointed 
secretary  of  the  Society.  He  pressed  tempestously  forward 
and  endeavoured  to  translate  his  new  convictions  into  practice ; 
he  broke  caste,  and  demanded  social  reforms,  the  remarriage  of 
widows,  the  abolition  of  child  marriage,  the  complete  renuncia- 
tion of  all  idolatrous  and  superstitious  customs,  etc.  In  1865 
this  led  to  strife  and  a  breach  between  him  and  the  more 
timid  and  more  prudent  Tagore.  The  Samaj  was  rent  asunder, 
and  those  who  were  of  a  more  conservative  way  of  thinking  rallied 
round  Debendranath  Tagore  and  called  themselves  the  Adi 
Samaj  (the  "  original  "  Samaj).  This  association  has  since  been 
of  little  importance.  Tagore  lived  to  a  ripe  old  age  at  Calcutta, 
and  died  on  January  19th,  1905,  highly  respected  as  the 
"  Maharishi,"  the  "  great  sage,"  of  India.  Scarcely  any  outside 
his  own  family  and  caste  were  members  of  his  Samaj. 

The  progressive  party  founded  under  Sen's  inspired  and 
inspiring  leadership  "  the  Progressive  Brahmo  Samaj  "  ;  and  for 
two  decades  the  new  Society  was  in  the  forefront  of  public 
interest.  Its  somewhat  chequered  history  is  chiefly  notable  for 
the  public  lectures  given  by  Chunder  Sen  from  time  to  time 
in  the  largest  halls  of  Calcutta  before  audiences  of  the  greatest 
brilliance  and  distinction.  As  he  was  a  master  of  convincing, 
dazzling,  and  profusely  illustrated  speech,  his  great  lectures  soon 
became  events  which  excited  the  keenest  interest  in  every  part 
of  India,  and  even  far  beyond  its  confines.  The  first  famous 
lecture  was  that  delivered  on  May  5th,  1866,  entitled  "Jesus 
Christ,  Europe,  and  Asia."  It  marks  his  nearest  approach  to 
Christianity.^  In  it  he  said :  "  Mankind  groaned  beneath  the 
mortal  disease  of  sin,  and  was  on  the  verge  of  the  precipice  of 
death.  Some  remedy  was  absolutely  indispensable  if  it  were  to 
be  cured.  Jesus  was  a  necessity  of  His  age.  .  .  .  Jesus,  Who 
by  His  wisdom  illumined  a  dark  world,  Who  rescued  it  by  His 
power.  Whose  blood  has  wrought  such  miracles  for  eighteen 
hundred  years,  was  He  not  lifted  high  above  the  rest  of  man- 
kind !  Blessed  Jesus  !  Deathless  Child  of  God  !  He  lived  and 
died  for  the  world !     May  the  world  learn  to  honour  Him." 

This  discourse  everywhere  received  the  greatest  attention 
both  from  Hindus  and  Christians.  The  missionaries  were  full 
of  hope;  they  thought  that  the  baptism  of  Sen  and  his 
followers  could  now  be  only  a  question  of  time.  But  Sen's 
speech  had  been  delivered  extempore,  and  in  the  heat  of  the 

^  The  entire  lecture  is  given  in  the  Basic  Miss.  Mag.  for  1867,  p.  3  et  scq. 


THE  LEAVEN  AT  WORK  371 

moment  he  had  gone  somewhat  farther  than  he  intended.  On 
September  28th  of  the  same  year  he  gave  a  second  lecture  on 
"  Great  Men,"  in  which  he  placed  Christ  on  a  level  with  Moses, 
Muhammad,  Buddha,  Confucius,  and  others ;  he  praised  these 
benefactors  of  the  race  in  exuberant  language,  but  simply  gave 
Christ  the  first  place  among  them.  Such  was  the  state  of 
affairs  when  in  1870  Sen  visited  England.  He  received  a  most 
extraordinary  welcome,  and  his  journey  through  the  country  was 
like  a  long  triumphal  procession ;  many  pulpits  were  thrown 
open  to  him,  and  these  by  no  means  Unitarian  pulpits  only. 
He  conducted  himself  in  this  remarkable  situation  with  the  true 
dexterity  of  an  Oriental,  but  any  attempt  to  make  him  a 
member  of  any  particular  Christian  sect  he  cleverly  foiled.  In 
a  speech  delivered  at  Birmingham  he  was  able  to  declare  quite 
dispassionately :  "  Since  my  arrival  in  England  I  find  myself 
ceaselessly  surrounded  by  different  religious  denominations,  all 
the  members  of  which  maintain  they  are  Christians.  I  seem  to 
be  in  a  great  fair.  Each  sect  is  like  a  little  stall  at  which  one 
particular  kind  of  Christianity  is  offered  for  sale.  As  I  pass  from 
booth  to  booth,  and  from  stall  to  stall,  each  sect  attempts  to 
waylay  me,  and  offers  me  its  interpretation  of  the  Bible  and 
its  particular  articles  of  Christian  faith."  Whilst  two  of  his 
companions  were  baptized  in  England,  Chunder  Sen  returned 
to  India  unbaptized  and  unattached.  Since  then  he  never 
again  felt  tempted  to  become  a  Christian.  Once  more  in  his 
native  land,  his  first  efforts  were  devoted  to  social  reform.  He 
succeeded  in  passing  a  special  marriage  law  for  the  adherents  of 
the  Brahmo  Samaj  (the  Brahmo  Marriage  Act,  III.  1872),  by 
which  no  maiden  belonging  to  the  Society  might  marry  under 
the  age  of  fourteen,  and  no  youth  under  the  age  of  sixteen.  In 
his  teaching  he  adopted  more  and  more  the  whole  circle  of 
Christian  terminology,  using  even  such  expressions  as  atonement, 
the  Trinity,  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  the  like ;  he  desired,  however, 
to  see  all  the  sacred  writings  of  all  peoples  recognised  as 
equal  sources  of  religious  knowledge,  from  which  intuition 
alone  could  sift  out  the  truth  by  means  of  meditation  and 
prayer. 

On  April  9th,  1879,  he  delivered  his  most  brilliant  address: 
"  India  asks,  who  is  Christ?  "  In  the  course  of  it,  he  said  :  "  Is 
not  a  new  and  conquering  civilisation  gaining  ground  in  the 
hearts  of  our  people,  day  by  day,  and  year  by  year  ?  Are  not 
Christian  ideas  and  institutions  striking  deeper  roots  in  the  soil 
of  India  continually?  Yes,  the  onward  surging  waves  of  a 
mighty  revolution  are  flooding  the  country,  and  foreign  innova- 
tions and  reforms  are  winning  their  way  to  India's  inmost  heart 
in  the  name  of  Christ.     Hence  it  is  that  our  fatherland  is  asking 


372  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

earnestly  and  frankly,  '  Who  is  this  Christ  ? '  Who  rules 
India?  You  are  mistaken  when  you  think  Lord  Lytton  does 
with  his  cabinet,  or  Sir  Frederick  Haine  with  his  military  genius. 
It  is  neither  diplomacy  nor  the  bayonet  which  sways  our  hearts. 
Armies  never  won  the  heart  of  a  nation.  And  you  cannot  deny 
that  our  hearts  are  touched,  are  won,  are  overwhelmed  by  a 
higher  power.  And  that  power  is  Christ.  Christ  rules  British 
India,  not  the  British  Government.  .  .  .  None  but  Jesus,  none 
but  Jesus,  none,  I  say,  but  Jesus,  ever  deserved  this  bright,  this 
precious  diadem,  India,  and  Jesus  shall  have  it.  .  .  .  My  Christ, 
my  sweet  Christ,  the  most  lustrous  Jewel  of  my  heart,  the  bridal 
Adornment  of  my  soul !  For  twenty  long  years  have  I  loved  Him 
in  my  miserable  heart.  I  have  found,  though  ofttimes  persecuted, 
though  ofttimes  soiled  by  the  world,  I  have  ever  found  sweetness 
and  joy  unspeakable  in  my  Master  Jesus.  He,  the  Bridegroom, 
Cometh  among  you.  May  India  adorn  herself  as  a  bride  in  her 
glittering  apparel,  that  she  may  be  ready  to  meet  Him."  In  this 
connection  he  paid  such  a  beautiful  testimony  to  the  work  of  the 
missionaries,  that  we  cannot  deny  ourselves  the  pleasure  of 
repeating  it:  "If  praise  is  due  to  any  army  for  subjugating 
India,  it  is  the  army  of  the  missionaries,  with  their  General, 
Christ,  at  their  head.  Their  self-devotion  and  self-denial,  their 
love  for  men,  their  love  to  God,  their  faithfulness  to  the  truth, 
all  have  found,  and  will  continue  to  find,  a  deep  place  in  the 
o-ratitude  of  our  fellow-countrymen.  It  would  be  a  work  of 
supererogation  did  I  attempt  to  bestow  words  of  praise  on  such 
tried  friends  and  benefactors  of  our  land.  They  have  brought 
us  Christ.  They  have  given  us  the  high  code  of  Christian 
ethics,  and  their  teaching  and  example  have  influenced  and  won 
thousands  of  Hindus  in  secret,  who  have  not  yet  openly 
avowed  themselves  Christians.  God's  blessing  and  India's 
thanks  will  therefore  ever  accompany  men  like  these,  men  of 
character  and  veracity,  men  who  on  many  occasions  have  been 
found  ready  to  give  up  their  life  for  their  testimony  to  the 
truth." 

We  are  astounded  and  confounded  to  hear  such  lofty  and 
beautiful  words  from  the  lips  of  a  Hindu.  Still  they  only 
represent  one  side  of  the  shield  ;  in  the  same  lecture  Chunder 
Sen  continued  :  "  But  we  must  admit  that  England  has  brought 
us  a  Western  Christ,  an  Englishman  with  English  manners  and 
customs,  with  the  temperament  and  mind  of  an  Englishman. 
Before  such  a  one  the  Hindus  draw  back  in  alarm,  and  say  : 
'  Who  is  this  revolutionary  reformer,  who  seeks  to  undermine 
the  very  foundations  of  our  native  social  order,  who  brings  us 
a  foreign  faith  and  a  civilisation  wholly  incompatible  with 
Oriental  sentiments  and  ideas  ?     Why  should  we  submit  our- 


THE  LEAVEN  AT  WORK  373 

selves  to  one  of  a  different  nationality  ?  Why  should  we  bow 
before  the  prophet  of  another  race  ? '  It  is  an  undeniable  fact 
that  hundreds  and  thousands  even  of  the  educated  classes  of 
this  country  view  with  moral  repugnance  the  form  of  foreign 
Christianity  which  is  forcing  its  way  into  Hindu  society  and 
threatening  to  overturn  it.  And  it  is  this  discrepancy,  doubt- 
less, which  hinders  the  progress  of  the  true  spirit  of  Christianity 
in  our  midst.  .  .  .  But  why  must  the  Hindus  go  to  England  to 
learn  to  know  Jesus  Christ?  Is  not  the  land  of  Christ's  birth 
nearer  to  India  than  to  England  ?  Were  not  Jesus  and  His 
apostles  more  nearly  related  to  the  Indian  races  and  ways  of 
living  than  to  the  English  ?  "  And  here  we  come  to  the  root  of 
the  whole  matter :  it  is  an  Oriental  Christ  whom  Chunder  Sen 
would  reveal,  a  Christ  who,  like  some  Indian  yogi,  has  emptied 
Himself,  in  contemplation  and  meditation,  that  He  may  be  filled 
with  the  Godhead.  "  The  life  of  Christ  is  the  ideal  life  for  a 
Hindu.  The  idea  of  redemption  and  entire  absorption  in  the 
Godhead  is  one  of  the  ideas  of  the  Vedantic  philosophy  uni- 
versally recognised  throughout  India.  And  through  this  one 
idea  Christ  will  conquer  India." 

Whilst  India  and  the  world  were  still  wondering  what 
concrete  conception  Chunder  Sen  had  of  this  Oriental  Christ, 
the  eloquent  orator  unfortunately  proved  himself  to  be  but  a 
very  weak  Hindu.  He  betrothed  {i.e.,  according  to  Indian 
custom,  married),  in  direct  contradiction  to  the  law  he  had 
carried  through  in  1872,  his  thirteen-year-old  daughter  with  the 
seventeen-year-old  Prince  (later  Maharajah)  of  Cooch  Behar. 
This  gross  inconsistency  on  the  part  of  their  leader  brought 
matters  to  a  crisis  in  the  Brahmo  Samaj  ;  425  of  its  514 
members  renounced  Chunder  Sen's  authority,  and  founded  on 
a  democratic  basis  and  on  the  Presbyterian  model  the  Sadharan 
Samaj  (the  "  constitutional "  or  "general"  Samaj).  Under  the 
direction  of  Dr.  A.  M.  Bose,  a  famous  and  learned  solicitor,  of 
his  brother,  and  of  the  eloquent  pundit.  Dr.  Sivanath  Shastri, 
this  Society  has  continued  to  exist  up  to  the  present  time.  Its 
confession  of  faith,  in  nine  articles,  lays  strong  emphasis  on  a 
monotheistic  God,  teaches  the  immortality  of  the  soul,  and 
states  that  true  redemption  consists  in  forsaking  sin  with 
unfeigned  repentance,  and  that  union  with  God  in  wisdom, 
goodness,  and  holiness,  is  true  salvation. 

But  however  small  at  first  the  remnant  still  adhering  to 
Chunder  Sen,  public  interest  and  the  potentiality  for  further 
development  were  on  his  side  ;  and  unfortunately  this  develop- 
ment took  place  during  the  next  five  years  with  painfully 
surprising  rapidity.  Chunder  Sen  gave  himself  out  as  the 
founder  of  a  new  world-embracing  religion.     In  a  speech  made 


374  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

on  January  23rd,  1881,  which  for  high-flown  eloquence  and 
clashing  of  phrases  put  all  his  previous  accomplishments  into 
the  shade,  he  imparted  this  wonderful  discovery  to  the  world. 
"Asia,  thou  mother  of  so  many  institutions  for  the  healing  of 
the  nations,  thou  hast  again  brought  a  child  to  the  birth,  whose 
natal  day  shall  be  to  many  an  anniversary  of  great  joy.  Sweet 
Angel  of  the  East,  Evangelist  of  Heaven,  sent  from  above  with 
a  new  gospel,  thou  camest  to  us  clad  in  the  most  splendid  and 
glittering  array  and  adorned  with  the  most  precious  jewels,  such 
as  the  East  only  can  boast.  Thou  camest  accompanied  by  the 
sounding  of  bells  and  the  echoing  of  conches.  Sacred  Light, 
we  greet  thee,  we  kiss  thee,  we  yearn  in  humility  to  impart  this 
day  to  these  our  brethren  here  assembled,  the  good  tidings 
which  thou  hast  brought  us  from  heaven,"  etc.  And  what  is 
this  new  gospel  ?  A  melting  down  of  all  previous  religions  to 
a  unity  nobler  than  them  all,  by  one  new  prophet  Keshub 
Chunder  Sen,  who  claimed  for  himself  divine  inspiration,  and 
who  on  that  account  allowed  himself  to  be  worshipped  as  god. 
The  "  New  Dispensation  "  was  the  name  Sen  gave  to  his  new 
religion.  He  at  once  got  to  work  to  arrange  the  details  of 
religious  worship  for  his  followers,  by  introducing  the  sacred 
rites  of  all  other  religions ;  from  Christianity  he  borrowed 
baptism,  confirmation,  the  Holy  Communion,  and  much  besides. 
The  way  he  mimicked  our  most  sacred  rites  is  almost  blas- 
phemous. It  will  be  enough  if  we  reproduce  the  description 
given  by  an  eye-witness  of  his  first  celebration  of  Holy  Com- 
munion on  March  6th,  1881.  "The  Hindu  apostles  of  Christ, 
as  they  call  themselves,  assembled  after  prayer  in  the  refectory, 
and  seated  themselves  upon  the  bare  floor,  their  legs  folded 
beneath  them.  Rice  was  then  brought  in  on  a  silver  trencher, 
and  water  in  a  small  jug.  The  officiating  priest  read  the 
dedicatory  words  from  Luke  xxii.,  and  then  prayed :  '  O  Holy 
Spirit,  touch  this  rice  and  this  water  and  change  their  coarse 
substance  into  sanctifying  spiritual  forces,  in  order  that,  as  we 
eat,  we  may  assimilate  them  in  our  bodies  just  as  the  flesh  and 
blood  of  all  saints  is  assimilated  in  Jesus  Christ.  Satisfy  the 
hunger  and  thirst  of  our  souls  with  the  rice  and  the  water 
placed  before  us  by  Thee.  Make  us  strong  through  the  power 
of  Christ,  and  nourish  us  with  holy  living.'  After  the  rice  and 
the  water  had  been  consecrated,  they  were  handed  round  to 
those  present  in  small  portions.  They  ate  and  drank  solemnly 
and  praised  God,  the  God  of  the  prophets  and  the  saints." 
Sen  soon  slipped  farther  and  farther  down  the  steep  descent. 
He  introduced  the  old  Indian"  Soma"  sacrifice,  and  the 
"  Arati  "  rite  ;  he  arranged  sacred  dances — three  concentric 
circles   of  boys,  youths,  and   men,  clad  in  yellow,  white,  and 


THE  LEAVEN  AT  WORK  375 

brown,  respectively  moved  round  in  opposite  directions,  keeping 
time  with  the  music  while  Sen  sang:  "Jesus  dances,  Moses 
dances,  Buddha  dances,  all  sing  in  honour  of  the  Only  One," 
and  so  on.  All  kinds  of  pearls  and  precious  stones  were  ex- 
hibited to  represent  the  truths  scattered  abroad  in  the  most 
widely  differing  religions.  By  a  trick  these  were  all  united  to 
form  one  exquisite  ornament.  There  were  other  conjuring 
tricks  of  the  same  sort.  Sen  himself  on  one  occasion  called  his 
religion  a  "sacred  jugglery."  And  his  ever  active  imagination 
was  continually  discovering  new  dogmas,  the  latest  of  these 
being  that  of  the  "  Motherhood  of  God."  He  was  just  pre- 
paring for  a  great  voyage  round  the  world,  in  order  to  gain 
universal  recognition  for  the  new  religion,  when  he  died,  after  a 
short  illness,  on  January  8th,  1884,  being  only  forty-five  years 
old.  We  can  only  read  the  life  story  of  this  brilliantly  gifted 
and  deeply  religious  character  with  sadness.  Scarcely  any  other 
Hindu  has  spoken  such  glorious  words  concerning  Jesus  Christ, 
or  been  more  deeply  impressed  by  His  life  and  words — and  yet 
in  what  hopeless  confusion  did  his  life  end  ?  Shipwrecked 
through  presumption  and  vanity,  he  was  as  a  moth  whose 
wings  were  destroyed  at  the  flame  of  the  divinity  of  Christ, 
simply  because  in  his  folly  and  self-will  he  neither  could  nor 
would  abstain  from  fluttering  around  it  in  his  own  fashion  ;  he 
is  also  an  example  of  the  mighty  fermentation  the  Spirit  of 
Christ  is  producing  in  the  minds  of  the  Hindus. 

Even  over  the  open  grave  of  the  master  fresh  disputes 
broke  out  between  his  disciples,  as  also  in  the  apostolic  councils 
Sen  had  constituted.  Whether  "  the  master  who  had  passed 
into  heaven  "  should  be  accorded  divine  honours,  whether  his 
pulpit  should  ever  again  be  occupied,  and  so  on,  were  the 
questions  which  now  unsettled  all  the  small  souls  connected 
with  the  movement.  A  true  friend  and  relation  of  Sen's,  the 
noble  Babu  Pratap  Chunder  Mozumdar  {b.  1840),  assumed  the 
direction  of  the  Samaj,  as  far  as  it  was  possible  to  assume 
direction  of  aspirations  so  arbitrary  and  so  widely  differing  in 
their  objects.  Mozumdar  was  also  a  man  who  had  experienced 
much  of  the  glory  of  Jesus,  from  his  early  years.  "  Jesus  dwelt 
consciously  in  my  heart  like  some  deeply  cherished  love  of 
earth ;  He  was  its  rest,  its  innermost  consolation,  its  unmerited 
treasure,  in  whose  riches  I  was  fully  invited  to  share.  From 
that  day  onwards  Jesus  was  a  reality  to  me,  One  upon  Whom  I 
could  lean  for  support."  Mozumdar  wanted  to  be  a  real  Christ's 
man,  but  not  as  one  belonging  to  any  of  the  innumerable 
Christian  denominations.  He  was,  however,  of  too  gentle  and 
retiring  a  spirit  to  hold  the  Society  together  with  a  firm  hand. 
Since  no  Scriptures  were  recognised  as  its  basis,  and  no  con- 


376  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

fession  of  faith  as  its  norm,  every  member  chose  out  just  those 
parts  of  all  other  religions  which  were  most  pleasing  to  himself 
"  Young  people,  and  even  little  boys  and  girls,"  says  a  well- 
informed  article  in  one  of  the  numbers  of  Nobo  Bharat  (a  news- 
paper) for  1887,  "  may  now  be  found  in  the  very  front  ranks  of 
the  critics.  It  is  therefore  a  difficult  matter  to  know  whose 
opinion  is  authoritative  in  the  Samaj,  and  whose  is  not.  .  .  . 
Each  man  is  an  authority  unto  himself"  Mozumdar  bore  the 
burden  of  leadership  until  the  year  1902  ;  after  having  held 
himself  quite  aloof  from  the  meetings  of  the  Samaj  for  several 
years  previously,  he  took  farewell  both  of  the  Society  and  the 
world  in  an  elegiac  composition  in  the  spring  of  1902,  and 
retired  to  Kurseong,  near  Darjeeling,  in  the  Himalayas,  to  end 
his  days  in  peace  and  quiet  meditation.  He  died  at  Calcutta 
on  May  27th,  1905. 

It  is  difficult  to  arrive  at  any  conclusive  judgment  as  to  the 
importance  of  the  Brahmo  Samaj  movement.  No  one  has  seen 
more  clearly  nor  admitted  more  honourably  than  the  reflective 
Mozumdar  the  superficial  character  of  its  entire  operations. 
"  We  go  one  way,  our  old  relatives  another,  and  our  women  yet 
another  ;  and  notwithstanding  all  these  conflicting  forces,  the 
Indian  home  remains  in  pretty  much  the  same  condition  as  it 
occupied  before  the  Government  opened  its  schools  and  colleges. 
Our  educated  young  men  discuss  their  projects  of  reform  in 
debating  clubs ;  but  as  soon  as  they  get  home,  they  carefully 
put  their  progressive  views  in  their  pockets,  and  bend  their 
necks  beneath  the  yoke  of  custom  as  their  ancestors  before 
them.  They  belong  to  the  nineteenth  century,  but  their  homes 
to  the  first  century,  and  the  distance  between  the  two  they 
must  discount  every  day  as  they  walk  from  the  college  to  the 
home."  If  moral  backbone  was  not  precisely  the  forte  of 
Chunder  Sen,  the  majority  of  the  Society  lacked  it  even  more, 
and  at  times  bitter  outcries  are  raised  against  the  lack  of 
character  and  the  want  of  discipline  in  these  Samajes.  And 
yet  we  ought  not  to  ignore  the  fact  that  they  have  exercised 
salutary  influences  in  many  different  directions.  The  majority 
of  their  members  have  renounced  completely  the  popular 
idolatry  and  all  its  depraving  customs.  Sen  made  great  efforts 
to  ameliorate  the  condition  of  the  weaker  sex;  as  early  as  1865 
he  admitted  women  to  his  religious  gatherings,  and  founded  for 
them  an  association  of  their  own,  the  Brahmika  Samaj.  The 
author  was  told  in  Calcutta  that  the  education  given  to  female 
members  of  Samaj  families  was  of  an  exceptionally  high  order. 
They  compose  the  majority  of  the  students  at  the  famous 
Bethune  College ;  it  is  by  no  means  a  rare  occurrence  for  Samaj 
girls  to  attain  the  age  of  eighteen  or  twenty  before  they  marry. 


THE  LEAVEN  AT  WORK  377 

The  Samajes  carry  on  an  extensive  propaganda  throughout  the 
whole  of  India,  support  travelling  preachers  and  agents,  printing- 
houses,  newspapers,  magazines,  and  book  warehouses.  By  these 
means  their  reforming  ideas  are  sent  forth  into  every  quarter, 
and  perform  at  least  some  measure  of  pioneer  work  for  the 
missionaries. 

But  this  must  not  be  our  final  word  on  these  Societies.  Ever 
since  the  entrance  into  the  arena  of  Duff's  all-quickening 
personality  in  1830,  down  to  somewhere  about  the  year  1870, 
there  were  at  least  a  few  converts  to  Christianity  every  year 
from  the  most  distinguished  and  talented  families  in  Bengal, 
the  Banerjeas,  the  Chatterjeas,  the  Dutts,  etc.,  and  a  great 
religious  movement  had  thus  arisen  amongst  the  intellectual 
aristocracy  of  the  country.  But  after  Chunder  Sen's  dazzling 
appearance  on  the  scene  this  movement  came  to  a  complete 
standstill,  and  conversions  from  the  first  circles  of  society  in 
Calcutta  have  been  of  the  most  infrequent  occurrence.  The 
Samajes  have  built  up,  as  it  were,  a  wall  of  demarcation  between 
missions  and  the  Hindu  aristocracy.  The  reason  for  this  is  not 
far  to  seek.  With  the  grosser  forms  of  ancient  Hinduism  these 
educated  classes  will  have  nothing  more  to  do ;  but  the  majority 
of  them  lack  the  strength  of  character  necessary  to  take  the 
decisive  step  into  the  Christian  Church.  Now  here  they  find, 
so  to  speak,  a  half-way  house  which  just  meets  their  need,  a 
religion  they  can  model  according  to  their  taste,  in  which  there 
is  so  much  said  about  Christianity  and  the  Bible,  and  which 
uses  so  many  of  the  formula;  and  expressions  of  Christian 
doctrine  which  they  have  learnt  at  school,  that  in  the  end 
they  imagine  themselves  within  a  Society  that  is  wholly 
Christian ;  and,  above  everything,  no  breaking  of  caste  is 
demanded  of  them,  no  sacrifice  of  home  or  fortune,  no  giving 
up  of  their  accustomed  ways  of  living.  It  is  the  perfect 
religious  system  for  a  society  of  beaux  esprits,  none  of  whom 
possesses  much  determination  of  character.  And  this  is  also 
probably  the  reason  why,  according  to  the  Census  reports,  the 
membership  of  the  Brahmo  Samaj  has  always  been  extremely 
small,  it  being  returned  in  1881  as  515  adults  and  601  children, 
in  1 891  as  having  3051  members  in  all,  and  in  1901,  about 
4000.  This  is  likewise  the  cause,  doubtless,  that  the  entire 
Brahmo  Samaj  movement  has  been  largely  confined  to  Bengal ; 
the  leavening  of  the  atmosphere  of  Calcutta  with  the  elements 
of  Anglo-Christian  culture,  the  subtle  intellects  of  the 
Bengalis,  their  love  for  disputation  and  argument,  together 
with  their  manifest  weakness  of  character,  all  tend  to  foster  a 
religion  that  makes  its  main  appeal  to  the  intellect  and  not  to 
the  will. 


378  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

There  are,  moreover,  no  less  than  fifteen  different  periodicals, 
six  in  English,  six  in  Bengali,  one  in  Hindi,  one  in  Oriya,  and 
one  Anglo-Marathi,  engaged  in  the  dissemination  of  these 
ideas,  and  their  chief  organ,  the  daily  Indian  Mirror,  is  one 
of  the  most  influential  newspapers  of  Calcutta.  In  the  whole 
of  India  there  are  149  of  their  local  societies,  which,  however, 
only  possess  some  44  places  of  worship — an  ctat  major  without 
an  army  ! 

2.  Will  o'  the  Wisps 

At  the  South  India  Missionary  Conference  held  at  Madras 
in  1900,  Dr.  Murdoch,  a  man  who  has  grown  grey  in  the  cause 
of  missions,  said  on  one  occasion  :  "  India  is  the  favourite 
hunting-ground  of  religious  mountebanks,  fanatics,  and  every 
possible  kind  of  false  teacher  and  quack."  There  is  no  doctrine 
too  nonsensical  and  no  pretension  too  absurd  to  find  credence 
in  India,  provided  it  be  advanced  in  an  assumed  tone  of 
religious  conviction.  How  heart-rending,  however,  is  the  evil 
wrought  by  unprincipled  adventurers  from  the  Christian  West 
when  they  exploit  this  foible  of  the  Indian  peoples  and  make 
complete  fools  of  them.  About  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth 
century  all  kinds  of  occult  sciences  of  very  doubtful  worth,  such 
as  spiritualism,  mesmerism,  etc.,  were  extensively  cultivated  in 
both  Europe  and  America.  A  blas6  society,  which  had  lost 
faith  in  the  simple  revelation  of  the  truth  of  Christianity,  felt  a 
new  and  delightful  tickling  of  the  senses  in  conversing  with  the 
spirits  of  the  departed,  in  acquiring  from  them  a  supposed 
knowledge  of  the  unseen  world,  and  in  accomplishing  all  sorts 
of  miracles  by  their  aid.  Furthermore,  these  credulous  enemies 
of  Christianity  carried  on  no  slight  flirtations  with  the  religions 
of  the  East,  particularly  with  Buddhism,  which  just  about  that 
time  began  to  be  fashionable  in  America.  Belonging  to  these 
occult  circles  in  America  was  an  adventurer.  Colonel  Olcott  ^  by 
name,  who  had  been  in  turn  an  officer  in  the  army,  the  director 
of  an  insurance  society,  a  newspaper  editor,  and  who  was 
withal  a  man,  to  say  the  least,  of  questionable  past — for  it  is  on 
record  that  he  was  imprisoned  in  America  for  circulating 
immoral  literature.  With  him  there  became  associated  an 
extremely  cunning  adventuress,  Madame  Blavatsky,  the  widow 
of  a  Russian  General,  behind  whom  there  also  lay  an  eventful 
and  somewhat  dubious  past.  Colonel  Olcott  and  Madame 
Blavatsky  journeyed  to  India  in  1879  to  carry  on  a  propa- 
ganda   of    occultism.      After    a    temporary   halt    at    Bombay, 

"^  Basle    Miss.    Mag.,    1885,    pp.     272,    357,    etc.       Ilandmann,    Kampf  der 
Geisier,  p.  41. 


THE  LEAVEN  AT  WORK  379 

they  went  on  to  Ceylon,  and  there  Olcott  formally  professed 
Buddhism.  During  the  next  few  years  both  of  them  displayed 
great  literary  activity  on  behalf  of  Buddhism.  Olcott  wrote  a 
Buddhist  catechism,  which  was  translated  into  many  different 
languages,  and  of  which,  so  it  was  asserted,  more  than  30,000 
copies  were  sold  ;  its  standpoint  was  purely  and  simply  atheistic. 
For  example,  the  answer  to  question  112  says  in  so  many  words  : 
"  For  a  Buddhist  a  personal  God  is  nothing  more  or  less  than  a 
gigantic  shadow,  which  the  imaginations  of  ignorant  men  have 
thrown  across  the  face  of  the  world."  At  the  same  time 
Madame  Blavatsky  published  a  work  of  fifteen  hundred  pages 
in  two  volumes,  Isis  Unveiled;  it  has  since  been  proved, 
however,  that  a  large  portion  of  it  consisted  of  abstracts  from  a 
French  book,  Dogine  et  Rituel  de  la  haute  Magie,  written  by  an 
ex-priest,  Louis  Constant  (under  the  nom  de  guerre  of  "  Eliphas 
Levy"),  and  from  Donelly's  Atlantis  —  that  it  was,  in  fact,  a 
scandalous  plagiarism.  In  1882  the  two  adventurers  transferred 
their  headquarters  to  Madras,  where  they  soon  developed  such 
extensive  activities  as  to  attract  the  attention  of  all  India. 
They  founded  a  "  Theosophical  Society,"  and  published  a 
periodical  of  their  own.  The  Theosophist,  a  journal  devoted  to 
Oriental  philosophy,  art,  literature,  and  esoteric  arts,  such  as 
mesmerism,  spiritualism,  and  other  esoteric  sciences.  They 
soon  had  a  tremendous  following ;  even  Englishmen  of  the 
highest  social  standing  subscribed  to  their  society,  and  Hindus 
with  a  British  education  were  soon  in  a  state  bordering  on 
intoxication  with  regard  to  the  new  doctrines.  What,  then,  were 
the  objects  Olcott  and  Blavatsky  strove  to  attain  ?  According 
to  their  official  programme  the  aims  of  the  "  Theosophical 
Society  "  were  threefold  :  (i)  A  nucleus  was  to  be  formed  for  a 
universal  brotherhood  of  man,  without  distinction  of  race,  creed, 
or  colour ;  (2)  the  study  of  Aryan  and  other  religions  should  be 
encouraged,  and  their  importance  pointed  out  ;  (3)  the  hidden 
mysteries  of  nature  and  the  physical  powers  latent  in  mankind 
should  be  inquired  into.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  their  endeavours 
took  quite  a  different  form  ;  the  first  thing  they  did  was  to  pay 
most  assiduous  court,  in  a  highly  mendacious  fashion,  to  the 
Hindus  themselves.  True  wisdom,  they  said,  did  not  proceed 
from  the  West,  it  was  to  be  sought  in  Indian  men.  In  the 
Orient  in  the  ancient  prehistoric  sacred  writings  lay  the  source 
of  light  and  wisdom.  "You  have  misunderstood  and  concealed 
it.  We  want  to  set  it  again  on  the  beacon  tower,  and  are  come 
to  learn  from  you,  and  also  to  prove  to  you  that  the  old  Indian 
wisdom  is  in  perfect  harmony  with  the  results  of  modern 
science."  Was  not  this  kind  of  flattery,  flung  broadcast  in 
every  direction,   precisely  the  kind  of  thing  to  bewilder  and 


38o  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

befog  weak-willed  Hindus?  The  only  pity  was  that  it  came 
from  people  who  were  so  well  known  to  be  Buddhists,  as  that 
the  priest  of  the  great  temple  at  Tinnevelly,  for  instance,  when 
Olcott  had  finished  his  brilliant  speeches  upon  Hinduism,  felt 
it  necessary  to  have  the  temple  thoroughly  purified  after  his 
departure  !  This  exaltation  of  Hinduism  was  accompanied  by 
an  increasingly  venomous  hatred  of  Christianity,  and  more 
particularly  of  missionaries.  They  wanted  "  to  tear  Christianity 
to  shreds."  "  What  Christianity  really  is  is  shown  by  Krupp 
cannons,  by  whisky  distilleries,  by  opium  ships,  and  by  many 
other  things  of  that  ilk.  Its  course  through  the  world  is  one 
long  chain  of  selfishness,  brutality,  unrighteousness,  and  decep- 
tion. The  dogmas  of  this  religion  are  based  upon  proofs  which 
are  neither  historical  nor  logical :  all  that  is  true  in  them  is 
derived  from  philosophical  writings  of  antiquity.  ...  It  destroys 
all  morality,  and  puts  an  end  to  all  striving  after  high  ideals.  It 
begets  hypocrisy,  flatters  sensuality,  and  palliates  crime."  "  An 
expiring  superstition  "  !  And  the  missionaries  are  "  peaceful 
hooded  snakes,"  useless,  ignorant,  idle  gluttons  who  live  on  the 
credulity  of  pious  Christians  in  Europe  ;  their  converts  can  only 
be  termed  "  perverts,"  and  so  forth.  How  sweet  must  all  this 
have  sounded  in  the  ears  of  Hindu  society,  which  had  the  greatest 
intellectual  difficulty  in  maintaining  its  position  in  face  of  the 
attacks  made  by  Christianity  and  by  the  superior  measure  of 
truth  contained  therein.  If  an  "  academically  trained  "  American 
officer  and  a  high-born  Russian  general's  widow  thought  and 
spoke  thus,  who  could  blame  the  Hindus  if  in  future  they  refused 
to  hear  anything  further  concerning  a  decadent  religion  like  Chris- 
tianity, concerning  such  very  questionable  persons  as  missionaries? 
The  real  strength  of  the  movement  headed  by  Olcott  and 
Madame  Blavatsky,  however,  lay  in  their  supposed  and  pre- 
tended relations  with  the  spirit  world.  Madame  Blavatsky 
maintained  that  at  an  earlier  period  she  had  lived  for  seven 
years  in  the  Himalayas,  in  the  most  profound  solitude,  and  that 
she  had  there  sought  and  found  communion  with  the  spirits  of 
great  saints  of  ancient  India,  with  the  Rishis  and  the  Mahatmas. 
In  particular,  she  had  engaged  in  lively  intercourse  with  an  old 
Tibetan  saint,  Kut  Humi  Lai  Singh,  a  Mahatma  never  previously 
heard  of.  Upon  this  alleged  intercourse  with  the  Mahatmas,  and 
particularly  with  Kut  Humi,  who  soon  became  a  well-known 
personage,  an  extensive  system  of  fraud  was  organised  by  this 
honest  couple  at  Madras.  Madame  Blavatsky  received  and 
forwarded  all  correspondence  between  her  credulous  followers 
and  Kut  Humi ;  at  Bombay,  where  her  room  was  merely  roofed 
in  with  cloth,  the  answers  always  fell  to  her  from  the  roof;  at 
Madras,  where  she   had  an   apartment  the  roof  of  which  was 


THE  LEAVEN  AT  WORK  381 

more  solid,  she  found  them  in  a  letter-box — between  which  and 
her  bedchamber  there  existed  a  secret  passage.  Roses  falling  in 
showers,  music  sounding  in  the  air,  writing  on  the  wall,  or  on  a 
paper  laid  upon  the  floor  far  from  pen  or  pencil,  duplication  of 
objects,  the  disappearance  of  persons  from  a  room,  etc. — these 
were  Colonel  Olcott's  miracles.  Kut  Humi,  the  Mahatma,  even 
went  so  far  as  to  show  himself  in  his  astral  body ;  and  Olcott 
weighed  in  a  balance  all  the  spirits  who  put  in  an  appearance, 
and  found  that  their  actual  weight  was  from  fifty-two  to 
eighty-eight  pounds  avoirdupois !  All  these  striking  spiritual 
phenomena  created  tremendous  excitement  in  India ;  young 
India  believed  the  golden  days  of  the  old  Rishis  had  returned, 
and  that  ere  long,  ashamed  and  speechless,  the  last  missionary 
would  leave  the  country. 

But  the  enchantment  was  not  to  last  long.  In  1884  Olcott 
and  Madame  Blavatsky  made  a  trip  to  Europe  ;  in  their  absence 
quarrels  arose  in  the  Theosophical  Association  at  Madras,  and 
a  French  lady,  the  bosom  friend  of  Madame  Blavatsky,  Madame 
Coulomb,  was  turned  out  of  the  Committee.  Deeply  hurt,  she 
betook  herself  in  a  rage  to  the  Scotch  missionaries  at  the 
Christian  College,  the  most  famous  missionary  college  in  South 
India,  and  revealed  the  entire  fraud.  Her  husband,  who  was  an 
engineer,  had  constructed  in  Madame  Blavatsky's  house  a  room 
fitted  up  with  all  the  tricks  and  apparatus  necessary  for  her 
jugglery  ;  quite  a  number  of  unquestionably  genuine  letters  from 
Madame  Blavatsky  to  Madame  Coulomb,  the  originals  of  which 
were  handed  over  to  the  missionaries,  proved  how  the  former 
had  planned  and  carried  out  one  artful  deception  after  another. 
Madame  Coulomb  actually  gave  a  public  seance  at  which  she 
repeated  all  the  most  remarkable  "  manifestations  of  the 
Mahatma,"  and  explained  the  tricks  connected  therewith.  The 
missionaries  published  a  series  of  articles  in  the  Christian 
College  Magazine  entitled  "  The  Collapse  of  Koot  Hoomi." 
Madame  Blavatsky  and  her  numerous  supporters  foamed  with 
rage ;  but  the  proofs  against  them  were  too  convincing,  and  they 
did  not  dare  to  impeach  the  missionaries.  Gribble,  a  retired 
English  judge,  carefully  went  through  all  the  originals  of 
Madame  Blavatsky's  letters,  and  pronounced  his  verdict :  "  The 
letters  are  genuine  ;  Madame  Blavatsky  is  guilty."  The  Psychic 
Society  of  London  sent  out  a  Commissioner  to  India,  in  order 
to  examine  the  affair  scientifically ;  and  it,  too,  concluded  that 
the  whole  business  was  pure  fraud.  Madame  Blavatsky  and 
Colonel  Olcott  were  forced  shamefacedly  to  withdraw ;  they 
were  checkmated.  It  is  difficult  to  believe  that  ten  years  later 
Colonel  Olcott  appeared  again  in  India ;  he  has  founded  a 
"  Heathen    Missionary    Society,"   the    "  Buddha    Gaya    Maha 


382  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

Bodhi  Sabha,"  or  "  Association  of  the  Great  Illumination  of 
Buddha  Gaya,"  by  which  the  whole  of  India  is  to  be  re-converted 
to  Buddhism.  Madame  Blavatsky  was,  beyond  all  measure  of 
doubt,  an  arrant  cheat ;  Olcott,  a  very  credulous  man,  was 
perhaps  as  much  self-deceived  as  deceiving.  What  a  pity  that 
such  will  o'  the  wisps  should  appear  from  the  Christian  West  to 
disturb  the  work  of  Christian  missions  in  India. 

Madame  Blavatsky  retired  to  England,  and  sought  to  make 
a  fresh  start  with  her  fraudulent  practices  in  various  spiritualistic 
and  theosophic  circles.  Here  she  succeeded  in  drawing  into  her 
net  a  splendid  victim,  no  less  a  one  than  the  brilliant  journalist 
and  famous  defender  of  materialism,  Annie  Besant.^  This  lady, 
too,  had  had  a  chequered  career.  Born  in  1847,  she  had 
received  a  good  English  religious  education,  and  then  plunged 
into  society,  and  at  the  age  of  twenty  married  a  High  Church 
clergyman.  At  that  period  she  had  such  high  Anglican 
tendencies  that  in  her  first  published  work,  a  tract  on  fasting, 
she  advocated  well-nigh  Roman  Catholic  views.  Within  a  few 
years,  however,  she  took  up  a  wholly  different  standpoint;  she 
discarded  all  the  traditions  of  her  youth  and  of  her  Church,  left 
her  husband  and  her  home,  and,  adopting  enthusiastically  the 
materialistic  conception  of  life,  she  entered  upon  a  period  of 
unqualified  atheism.  She  became  a  member  of  the  association 
founded  by  Charles  Bradlaugh,  the  well-known  atheist,  and  was 
an  ardent  contributor  to  his  magazine,  TJie  Social  Reformer] 
she  wrote  books  such  as  Aly  Path  to  Atheism,  which  wrought 
much  havoc  in  England,  and  which  travelled  even  as  far  as 
India,  where  they  were  greedily  devoured  by  blase  young  India. 
As  an  agitator  of  twenty  years'  standing  on  behalf  of  materialism 
and  atheism,  and  eloquent  both  in  speech  and  with  the  pen,  she 
was  ensnared  by  the  thorough-paced  Madame  Blavatsky,  and 
within  a  few  weeks  the  easily  enthused  lady  was  once  more 
completely  transformed  She  passed  over  to  the  spiritualist  and 
theosophist  camp  to  the  sound  of  music  and  dancing,  believed 
all  the  humbug  about  Madame  Blavatsky's  intercourse  with  Kut 
Humi  and  the  other  Mahatmas,  and  declared  a  war  to  the 
knife  on  materialism!  Madame  Blavatsky  died  in  1891.  It 
was  probably  from  her  that  Mrs.  Besant  received  the  impulse  to 
go  to  India,  and  there  to  revive  the  lost  cause  of  theosophy. 
With  her  attractive  personality  and  her  bewildering  eloquence 
she  was  the  very  woman  to  do  it. 

In  1893  she  went  out  to  India,  and  since  then  she  has 
become  one  factor  the  more  in  the  intellectual  life  of  the  country 
to  be  reckoned  with  by  the  missionaries,  whose  task  was  already 

^  Basle   Missionary   Mag.,    1897,    pp.     369,   419:     "  Zwei    neuste   Apostel   des 
Hinduismus." 


THE  LEAVEN   AT  WORK  383 

difficult  enough.  What  does  Mrs.  Besant  teach  ?  Although 
heart  and  soul  a  theosophist  like  "  the  world's  greatest  woman 
teacher,"  Madame  Blavatsky,  she  was  not,  like  that  lady  and  her 
squire  Olcott,  pledged  to  Buddhism ;  on  the  contrary  she  gave 
herself  out  to  be  an  inspired  representative  of  Hinduism.  As  in 
the  case  of  Blavatsky  and  Olcott,  it  is  difficult  to  decide  how 
much  is  conscious  mendacity  on  her  part,  how  much  the  exuber- 
ance of  extravagant  eloquence,  and  how  much  honest  conviction. 
We  must  even  take  the  confused  mixture  as  we  find  it,  and  as 
she  has  served  it  out  to  the  people  of  India.  She  declared  at 
Bangalore  that  she  had  been  a  Hindu  pandita  in  a  previous 
existence,  and  that  she  had  made  a  prolonged  sojourn  in  the 
West,  where  she  had  had  to  undergo  a  reincarnation  in  order  to 
understand  the  nature  of  the  materialistic  civilisation  of  Chris- 
tianity!  She  said  she  had  now  returned  to  India  with  an 
absolute  belief  in  all  the  Hindu  deities,  great  and  small,  in  caste, 
in  the  transmigration  of  souls,  etc.  She  cried  to  the  Hindus, 
"  Retain  your  idols."  They  must  not  throw  away  their  toys 
even  when  they  had  outgrown  them.  Adults  might  perhaps 
need  them  no  longer,  but  their  children  and  grandchildren  did. 
The  idols  are  such  pertinent  types,  "  magnetic  symbols  of 
godhead,  full  of  spiritualising  influences."  All  she  sought  was 
to  restore  Aryan  civilisation,  the  oldest,  truest,  and  best  in  the 
world.  "  India  was  a  mighty  empire  so  long  as  the  laws  of 
Manu  (the  caste  laws)  were  followed  to  the  very  letter,  but  when 
the  spirit  of  these  laws  was  forgotten,  horde  after  horde  of 
foreign  conquerors  swept  across  India,  and  subjugated  it." 
"  Those  who  by  many  births  have  garnered  rich  experience  in 
all  things  human  and  divine,  return  as  Brahmans.  Cherish 
therefore  this  God-given  plant"  (caste!).  Hindu  theosophy  was 
the  best  of  all  philosophies  ;  the  Hindus  were  the  wisest  of  all 
nations  ;  Sanskrit  was  the  most  beautiful  of  all  tongues  ;  Western 
civilisation,  in  spite  of  all  its  discoveries,  could  not  be  compared 
to  Hindu  civilisation.  And  the  best  things  we  possessed  in  the 
Western  world  were  all  borrowed  from  India.  "  For  the  Hindu 
there  is  no  false  religion,  since  every  form  of  worship  truly 
believed  in  is  for  the  believer  absolutely  true,  and  contains  for 
him  precisely  that  strength  and  impulse  which  is  needed  for  his 
higher  development.  And  we  may  even  go  farther  than  this ; 
the  Hindu  believes  that  the  religion  and  confession  in  which  a 
man  is  born  and  brought  up  is  a  far  more  potent  means  in  his 
uplifting  than  the  acceptance  of  a  new,  different  religion  ;" — and 
in  this  style  of  unscrupulous  glorification  of  Hinduism  in  all  its 
forms  and  phases  her  speeches  went  echoing  from  the  great  cities 
on  the  plains  of  Hindustan  to  the  temples  of  the  Tamil  country. 
And  the  Hindus  neither  can  nor  will  differentiate  what  in  this 


384  HISTORY  OB^  INDIAN   MISSIONS 

exaggerated  flood  of  eloquence  is  wittingly  untrue,  what  is 
flattery  addressed  to  the  inordinate  pride  of  the  listeners,  and 
what  proceeds  from  real  conviction.  Remembering  her 
chameleon-like  history,  and  the  extraordinarily  limited  amount 
of  her  actual  knowledge  of  India  when  she  suddenly  appeared 
there  with  decided  and  settled  convictions  on  all  its  multitudi- 
nous questions  and  problems  in  1893,  we  cannot  but  form  a 
low  opinion  of  the  sincerity  of  her  eloquence,  nor  dare  we 
name  her  in  the  same  breath  with  honest  students,  such  as 
Professors  Max  Mliller  or  Deussen,  who  after  profound  research 
have  arrived  at  a  favourable  judgment  upon  Hinduism.  But 
what  confusion  must  be  wrought  in  the  minds  and  hearts  of  the 
Hindus,  who  as  a  race  cling  so  tenaciously  to  the  things  of  the 
past,  when,  after  missionaries  and  scholars  have  for  a  century 
past  described  their  faith  and  heathen  rules  of  life  as  untrue, 
indefensible,  and  pernicious,  there  appears  an  eloquent  English- 
woman who  describes  this  very  Hinduism  as  the  supreme 
wisdom  of  the  world.  Since  1900  Mrs.  Besant  has  made 
Benares  her  headquarters.  In  this  citadel  of  orthodox 
Hinduism,  aided  by  her  faithful  disciple.  Dr.  Richardson,  she 
has  founded  a  great  central  "  Hindu  College,"  which  has  been 
magnificently  endowed  by  various  Indian  Rajahs,  and  is  to  be 
"  the  most  valuable  of  all  existing  agencies  for  the  redemption  of 
India."  In  the  College  grounds  a  temple  has  been  erected  to 
Saraswati,  the  Hindu  goddess  of  learning;  over  the  portal  of 
the  main  building  is  enthroned  a  representation  of  the  elephant- 
headed  Ganesa ;  Krishna  worship  is  the  keynote  of  the  religious 
instruction  given  in  the  College,  and  the  Bhagavad  Gita  is  the 
"  Bible "  of  its  students.  Whilst  Mrs.  Besant  claims  to  be  a 
Hindu,  one  of  the  other  English  professors  plays  the  role  of 
Buddhist.  What  intelligent  Hindus  think  of  Mrs.  Besant's 
doings  is  shown  by  the  following  extract  from  the  Indian 
(Christian)  newspaper,  Sattiavarthauiani :  "  We  have  not 
the  slightest  doubt  that  her  influence  in  India  rests  in  reality 
upon  the  extent  to  which  she  has  sought  to  put  herself  on  the 
same  level  as  the  Hindus.  She  flatters  the  national  and 
superstitious  prejudices  of  the  people.  The  damage  she  inflicts 
upon  India  by  her  attempts  forcibly  to  restore  the  old  dying 
superstitions  and  old-fashioned  customs  is  incalculable."  And 
the  Hindu  newspaper  Reis  and  Rayat  (March  i6th,  1895) 
says :  "  When  an  educated  English  lady  claims  to  be  an 
enthusiast  for  the  mysticism  of  the  Tantra  and  Krishna  cults,  it 
is  time  for  every  true  lover  of  his  country  to  tell  her  openly  that 
we  neither  need  nor  desire  her  eloquence  to  gild  over  what  we 
know  to  be  rottenness  and  decay."  Real  Hindu  scholars,  the 
pundits,  make  sport  of  this  "  heroine  of  words,"  who  has  never 


THE  LEAVEN  AT  WORK  385 

penetrated'the  secrets  of  old  Indian  philosophy ;  but  English- 
trained  Young  India,  which  has  broken  with  the  past,  but  which 
because  of  weakness  of  character  cannot  shake  off  its  shackles, 
greets  her  with  acclamation.  Is  she  not  an  incarnate  excuse  for 
their  occupying  a  neutral  position  ?  Whether  Mrs.  Besant, 
protean  nature  as  she  is,  has  yet  come  to  the  end  of  her  trans- 
formations, who  can  tell  ? 

We  mentioned  above  that  Mrs.  Besant  went  out  to  India 
in  connection  with  the  Theosophical  Society;  may  we  be 
allowed  one  more  word  concerning  this  Society,  for  it  has  even 
to-day  a  certain  importance  in  Indian  affairs?  It  is  a  matter  of 
common  knowledge  that  this  Society,  founded  in  New  York 
in  1875,  has  in  the  course  of  the  last  three  decades  spread 
throughout  the  whole  civilised  world  from  Iceland  in  the  North 
to  New  Zealand  in  the  South,  and  has  also  branch  societies  in 
every  country  in  Europe.  Its  President  is  still  Colonel  Olcott. 
According  to  the  Report  for  1904,  it  had  a  total  of  325  branch 
societies,  and  new  ones  are  added  every  year.  It  controls  at 
its  central  office  alone,  quite  apart  from  the  considerable  sums 
spent  by  the  various  branch  associations,  a  yearly  income  of 
over  ^75,000.  But  by  far  the  most  important  field  of  the  Society 
is  India.  Here,  at  Adyar,  a  suburb  of  Madras,  is  situated  its 
headquarters;  here  we  find  198  of  the  325  branch  societies.  It 
is  its  Indian  work  alone  which  now  concerns  us.  Rev.  F. 
Lazarus,  a  missionary,  sent  out  a  circular  letter  in  1905  asking 
for  information  whereby  a  just  view  of  the  extent  and  potentiality 
of  the  work  of  this  Society  might  be  obtained.  According  to 
answers  received  by  him,  no  less  than  90  of  the  198  branches 
have  died  out,  and  concerning  none  of  the  rest  was  he  informed 
that  they  displayed  any  considerable  activity ;  many  are  mere 
literary  or  religious  clubs.  The  motive  powers  are  Mrs.  Besant, 
with  her  captivating  and  unscrupulous  eloquence,  and  her 
lieutenants ;  wherever  they  come,  branch  societies  spring  out  of 
the  ground.  But  there  is  a  lack  of  ardent  apostles  to  extend 
the  movement  on  their  own  initiative.  The  Society's  chances  of 
life,  therefore,  should  not  be  computed  very  high.  It  is  a 
convenient  refuge  for  Hindus  who  as  a  result  of  their  Western 
training  have  broken  with  idol-worship  and  the  superstition  of 
their  mother  land,  but  who  have  not  the  moral  strength  and 
faith  to  take  the  self-denying  step  over  to  Christianity.  It  is  a 
modern  half-way  house  for  seekers  after  something  better  than 
Hinduism.  In  this  respect,  as  well  as  chronologically,  it  is  the 
successor  of  the  Brahmo  Samaj ;  it  is  an  eclectic  blend  of 
religion  whose  fortunes  in  India  at  the  present  time  appear  to 
be  bound  up  with  the  personality  of  Mrs.  Besant. 

At  the  Chicago  Congress  of  Religions  in  1893  considerable 
25 


386  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

attention  was  aroused  by  a  young  Hindu  of  some  thirty  years 
of  age,  dressed  in  elegant  and  picturesque  orange  or  purple 
robes,  having  a  magnificent  silk  turban  wreathed  about  a  lofty 
forehead,  from  beneath  which  flashed  two  dark  vision-filled  eyes. 
Swami  Vivekananda  was  the  name  he  gave  himself;  that  is, 
"  The  Leader  to  the  Joys  of  (Indian)  Religious  Philosophy."  He 
gave  lectures  in  Chicago  which  were  favoured  by  extraordinarily 
large  audiences,  and  seeing  that  he  was  rapidly  becoming  famous, 
the  Swami  remained  in  America  for  three  years  after  the  close 
of  the  Congress,  lecturing  in  all  the  large  towns.  He  then  came 
to  England,  where  he  also  gave  a  large  number  of  lectures.  His 
subject  was  always  Hinduism,  which  he  proclaimed  in  remark- 
ably fluent  and  correct  English,  and  with  an  inexhaustible  fund 
of  illustrations,  as  the  highest  wisdom.  It  certainly  was  not  the 
old  genuine  Hinduism,  neither  the  philosophically  consistent 
system  of  the  Vedantas,  nor  yet  the  polytheistic  Hinduism  of 
the  masses  of  the  people,  but  a  hybrid  form,  decked  out  with 
many  spangles  of  Western  philosophy  and  of  Christian  phrase- 
ology. "  The  whole  conflict  which  finds  expression  in  the  Hindu 
system  is  an  ardent  wrestling  to  be  perfect,  to  be  godlike,  to 
attain  unto  God,  to  see  God,  and,  as  far  as  the  Hindus  do  thus 
attain  to,  and  see  God,  to  be  perfect  even  as  their  Father  in 
heaven  is  perfect.  That  is  the  essence  of  Indian  religion," — 
a  description  of  the  Hindu  attempt  at  identification  with 
God  which  has  a  remarkably  Christian  ring  about  it.  "  There 
is  no  polytheism,"  announced  the  Swami  boldly,  presuming  on 
the  ignorance  of  his  hearers  who  could  not  contradict  him. 
Hinduism  is  the  one  all-embracing  religion.  "  From  the  lofty 
spiritual  flights  of  Vedanta  philosophy  which  are,  as  it  were,  the 
echo  of  the  most  recent  discoveries  in  science  (!),  from  the 
agnosticism  of  the  Buddhists  and  the  atheism  of  the  Jains  right 
down  to  the  very  lowest  ideas  of  the  idol-worshippers  and  to  the 
teeming  mythologies,  everything  has  its  place  in  Hinduism." 
One  can  only  ask,  if  this  be  so,  how  it  is  that  the  Hindus  drove 
out  Buddhism  with  fire  and  sword,  and  persecuted  in  such 
bloody  fashion  the  Jains.  "  We  have  discovered  the  secrets  by 
which  the  depths  of  the  ocean  of  memory  may  be  explored  ; 
follow  them  up,  and  you  will  gain  perfect  recollection  of  your 
former  state  of  existence,"  and  so  on.  And  in  how  contemptu- 
ous a  manner  he  could  speak  of  sin  !  "  O  children  of  deathless 
joy !  what  a  sweet  precious  name !  Let  me,  my  brethren,  call 
you  by  this  sweet  name !  Ye  are  the  children  of  God,  partners 
of  joy  immortal,  holy  and  perfect  beings.  And  ye,  the  sons  of 
God  upon  earth,  are  told  ye  are  sinners?  It  is  a  sin  to  name  ye 
thus  !     It  is  a  perpetual  libel  on  human  nature."  ^ 

^  Rev.  E.  Thompson,  M.A.,  The  Teaching  of  Swami  Fiveianafida  {Madras,  1898). 


THE  LEAVEN  AT  WORK  387 

The  handsome  young  Hindu  had  great  crowds  of  enthusiastic 
hearers  devoid  of  critical  acumen,  particularly  in  America  ;  every- 
where ladies  swarmed  to  listen  to  him.  He  even  made  a  few 
proselytes — an  eccentric  Frenchwoman,  who  adopted  the  name 
of  Swami  Abhayananda,  and  a  Russian  Jew,  Swami  Kripa- 
nanda.  An  English  captain  and  his  wife,  Series  by  name,  even 
wanted  to  accompany  him  to  India,  in  order  to  erect  a  "  Home 
for  Western  Sannyasis,"  near  Almora,  in  the  Himalayas ;  and  a 
Mr.  Godwin  wished  to  accompany  the  Swami  everywhere.  His 
most  faithful  disciple  was  undoubtedly  Miss  Margaret  Noble, 
an  American,  who  went  out  to  India  after  him.  She  has 
recently  published  (1904)  a  book.  The  Web  of  Indian  Life, 
by  Sister  Nividita  (her  Indian  pseudonym)  of  Ramakrishna 
Vivekananda  (London,  W.  Heinemann).  According  to  the 
views  therein  expressed,  everything  Indian  is  glorious  and 
worthy  of  admiration,  even  polygamy  and  the  prohibition  of  the 
marriage  of  widows.  Suttee  is  simply  an  expression  of  belief 
in  the  mystic  unity  of  souls,  and  "  with  this  belief  in  her  heart, 
what  woman  would  not  have  laughed  at  the  flames  ?  " 

In  India  there  was  as  much  astonishment  at  first  as  there 
had  been  in  America  at  the  appearance  of  the  young  Swami. 
It  was  ascertained  that  his  real  name  was  Norendra  Nath  Dutt, 
that  he  had  been  born  in  a  Kayasth  family  at  Calcutta,  and  had 
received  his  education  at  the  General  Assembly's  Institution  of 
the  Established  Church  of  Scotland — that  is,  at  a  well-known 
missionary  foundation.  He  was  known  to  have  been  for  years 
under  the  influence  of  one  of  the  most  adventurous  Sannyasis 
with  whom  public  rumour  busied  itself  in  Calcutta,  Ram  Krishna 
Paramhansa,  whom  Professor  Max  Mliller  has  raised  to  unmerited 
repute  by  the  publication  of  his  biography.^  Hitherto  he  (Vive- 
kananda) had  only  been  known  in  the  narrower  circles  of  the 
Brahmo  Samaj,  which  he  had  joined  at  an  early  age.  His 
conduct  was  out  of  all  agreement  with  the  rules  of  the  sacred 
books.  He  who  travelled  across  the  ocean  only,  exposed 
himself  to  the  severest  penalties  and  to  expulsion  from  caste, 
and  in  addition  to  this  the  Swami  had  frequented  American 
hotels,  partaken  of  food  prepared  by  white  men,  and  smoked 
innumerable  cigarettes.  Further,  it  is  forbidden  in  the  Shastras 
to  make  proselytes  of  any  who  are  not  Hindus.  But  the 
conduct  of  the  Swami  in  appearing  before  the  public  in  this  way 
at  all  was  an  infringement  of  all  custom  ;  according  to  orthodox 
teaching,  a  man  could  only  become  a  Swami  after  completing 
the  six  steps  (tapa)  of  the  Yoga  by  long  years  of  asceticism. 

^  Ram  Krishna,  His  Life  and  Sayings  (London,  1898).  Cf.  Papers  for  Thoughtful 
Men,  No.  XII.,  "  Ram  Krishna  Paramhansa,"  by  Rev.  K.  S.  Macdonald  (Calcutta, 
1900). 


388  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

Such  a  Swami  ought  to  go  about  entirely,  or  at  any  rate  half 
naked,  in  order  to  demonstrate  his  complete  superiority  to  all 
conventions  of  men  and  his  renunciation  of  the  world.  Above 
all,  he  should  be  a  Brahman  ;  for  even  to  read  the  sacred  Vedas 
within  the  hearing  of  a  Sudra  is  grievous  sin.  And  here  was 
a  Sudra  appearing  as  the  apostle  of  Hinduism ;  and  there  was 
scarcely  one  single  point  in  which  his  teaching  agreed  with 
orthodox  Hinduism,  and  the  pundits  could  easily  have  pointed 
out  to  the  Swami  a  hundred  blunders  and  gross  mistakes  with 
regard  to  their  sacred  didactic  writings. 

But  all  these  considerations  receded  into  the  background 
before  the  truly  intoxicating  discovery  that  this  Swami  was 
making  Hinduistic  propaganda  on  an  immense  scale  away 
yonder  in  America.  Exaggerated  newspaper  reports,  and  the 
boundless  vanity  of  the  Swami  himself,  revelled  in  the  thought 
that  Christianity  was  declining  lower  and  lower,  that  Europe 
and  America  were  hungering  after  the  higher  truth  in  Hinduism, 
and  that  tens  of  thousands  would  swell  the  ranks  of  the  faithful 
within  a  few  years.  Instead  of  Americans  and  Englishmen 
coming  to  them  as  hitherto  to  carry  on  Christian  missions, 
Hindu  apostles  were  now  to  be  sent  to  them ;  and  whereas 
missionaries  had  met  with  scarcely  any  real  success  in  India, 
Hindu  apostles  would  find  open  doors  on  all  sides  in  these  long 
civilised  countries,  and  would  Hinduise  America  in  particular 
within  a  few  decades  !  These  were  indeed  brilliant  prospects, 
and  it  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  when  the  Swami  again 
landed  in  South  India,  in  December  1896,  he  received  a  magni- 
ficent welcome.  With  true  Oriental  luxuriance  of  imagination 
he  was  proclaimed  to  be  one  of  the  old  holy  Rishis,  or  a 
Bairagi,  or  sacred  penitent,  who  had  overcome  the  world.  His 
journey  through  India  was  one  long  triumphal  procession ;  his 
name  was  in  every  mouth.  Wherever  the  missionaries  began 
to  proclaim  the  gospel  in  the  schools  or  bazaars,  the  name  of 
the  Swami  was  at  once  held  up  against  them  in  all  confidence 
of  victory  ;  the  universal  opinion  was  that  since  he  had  appeared. 
Christian  missions  were  doomed.  And  the  Swami  seems  to 
have  entertained  serious  thoughts  of  starting  an  anti-Christian 
Hinduistic  missionary  movement  for  India  and  the  West. 
He  retired  to  a  monastery,  i.e.  Matha,  in  the  Himalayas,  and 
gathered  his  disciples  about  him,  in  order  that  he  might  prepare 
them  in  his  own  way  to  be  the  apostles  of  Hinduism.  But  it 
was  not  to  be:  on  July  4th,  1902,  he  died  suddenly  in  Calcutta, 
at  the  early  age  of  thirty-nine. 

We  have  given  the  name  of  "  will  o'  the  wisps  "  to  these 
remarkable  personalities  who  have  hurtled  in  such  meteoric 
fashion  across  the  broad  vault  of  the  Indian  sky.     In  the  great 


THE  LEAVEN  AT  WORK  389 

spiritual  struggle  consequent  upon  a  genuine  consideration  of 
the  relative  merits  of  Hinduism  and  Christianity,  of  East  and 
West,  the  use  of  false  and  dishonourable  weapons  can  but 
confuse  the  issues  of  the  struggle,  and  render  it  still  more 
embittered.  These  apostles  of  a  pseudo  Hinduism  calumniated 
and  defamed  Christianity  just  as  shamefully  as  on  the  other 
hand  they  idealised  and  glorified  Hinduism.  It  is  owing  to 
this  inward  lack  of  truthfulness,  too,  that  the  brilliant  advertise- 
ment they  received  at  the  outset  only  too  quickly  lost  its 
virtue.  Further,  this  age  of  telegraph  wires  renders  publicity 
too  easy  for  clumsy  swindles  like  those  of  Madame  Blavatsky, 
or  for  such  gross  self-adoration  as  that  of  Swami  Vivekananda, 
to  last  even  for  a  short  number  of  years.  The  cause  of  missions 
emerged  from  these  attacks  without  a  stain.  It  is  deplorable 
that  a  sense  of  truth  is  so  little  developed  in  the  Hindus  that 
they  do  not  turn  away  with  disgust  from  the  wholly  deceitful 
proceedings  of  these  their  grandiloquent  defenders  and 
champions. 


3.  Efforts  towards  a  Revival  of  Hinduism 

The  shortlived  movements  just  described  link  themselves 
on  to,  and  in  part  help  to  promote,  a  more  general,  more  far- 
reaching  intellectual  agitation,  the  so-called  "  Revival  of  Hindu- 
ism." The  enthusiasm  for  Mrs.  Besant  and  Swami  Vivekananda 
was  aroused  and  chiefly  maintained  by  the  hope  that  in  them 
valuable  allies  had  been  discovered  for  the  conflict  against 
Christianity,  or  for  the  defence  of  the  old  worship  of  idols — two 
objects  which  of  course  go  hand  in  hand.  Nothing  is  more 
indicative  of  the  continued  success  of  missions,  nothing  proves 
more  clearly  their  indirect  advance,  or  the  extent  to  which 
Hinduism  feels  its  spiritual  supremacy  threatened,  than  these 
attempts  at  revival  and  self-defence.  We  must  therefore  take 
them  into  consideration,  no  matter  how  little  we  may 
sympathise  with  many  of  their  methods. 

In  the  month  of  April  1887  a  "  Hindu  Tract  Society  "^  was 
founded  at  Madras  with  the  object  of  publishing  extracts  from 
the  ancient  sacred  writings,  issuing  tracts  of  a  polemic  nature 
against  Christianity,  and  sending  out  preachers  to  work  in 
opposition  to  the  missionaries.  Its  promoters  took  up  the 
conservative  standpoint  of  protecting  and  defending  ancient 
Hinduism  in  the  widest  sense,  and  they  summoned  to  their  aid 
the  grosser  instincts  of  the  superstitious  masses  of  the  people, 
whom  they  made  no  scruple  of  exciting  into  a  state  of  sheer 

^  Handmann,  Kantpf  der  Gezstcr,  p.  57  ci  scq. 


390  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

fanaticism  against  the  missionaries.  For  several  years  the 
energies  of  the  latter  in  South  India  were  sensibly  handi- 
capped ;  whenever  they  began  to  preach  in  the  street  or  at  the 
melas,  the  Hindu  preachers  at  once  appeared,  and  either  made 
them  a  laughing-stock,  shouted  them  down,  or  incited  the 
people  to  actual  violence.  The  missionaries  were  often  badly 
handled,  attacked  with  stones  or  covered  with  filth.  For  such 
brutish  procedure,  of  course,  no  intellectual  equipment  was 
necessary.  But  besides  this,  tracts  surpassing  in  noxious 
vulgarity  anything  that  had  preceded  them  were  published  and 
circulated  broadcast  among  the  common  people.  And  here 
the  Hindus  benefited  by  the  fact  that  just  about  this  time 
unbelieving  and  atheistic  publishers  and  booksellers  both  in 
England  and  America  were  making  great  efforts  to  create  in 
India  a  new  market  for  their  wares — whose  popularity  in  the 
home  country  had  very  rapidly  died  down.  The  polluted 
stream  of  modern  unbelief,  of  agnosticism,  and  atheism  now 
commenced,  therefore,  to  inundate  unhappy  India.  In  this 
disastrous  development  two  phases  are  clearly  traceable:  the 
first,  a  period  when  scientifically  worthless  and  shamefully 
immoral  literature  was  dumped  upon  the  Indian  market,  and 
the  second  when  the  scientific  works  of  famous  Western  experts 
were  brought  into  the  forefront  of  public  interest.  The  time 
we  are  now  more  particularly  considering  falls  within  the  first  of 
these  periods.^  Bradlaugh's  writings,  especially  his  Freethinkers' 
Text-book,  Mrs.  Besant's  My  Path  to  Atheism,  the 
atheistic  writings  of  Ingersoll,  Paine,  Foote,  Aveling,  and  others, 
flooded  the  market.  Another  section  was  composed  of  purely 
immoral  books,  such  as  TJie  Evil  of  Continence,  which 
preached  free  thought  and  free  love,  and  which  reached 
twenty-three  editions  in  India  alone.  Magazines  like  The 
Philosophical  Inquirer,  The  Thi?iker,  The  Anti-Christian,  all 
belonged  to  the  same  category.  The  Christians  are  described 
as  "thick-skulled,  bigoted  bloodhounds,"  the  teaching  of  the 
missionaries  as  "  the  purest  idiotic  trash "  and  "  the  most 
revolting  deception,"  the  Bible  is  "  senseless  gossip,"  "  the  most 
disgusting  filth,"  "  the  obscenest  book  ever  touched  by  human 
hands,"  etc.  etc.  (We  ought  to  state  that  these  journals  were 
none  of  them  long-lived  ;  neither  the  Anti-Christian  nor  the 
Philosophical  Inquirer  survived  the  fifth  year  of  publication, 
and  the  Thinker  was  only  kept  above  water  with  difficulty, 
and  by  European  funds.)  The  theosophists,  Olcott  and 
Blavatsky,  with  all  their  train,  united  in  the  same  outcry.  It 
was  a  bad  sign  for  the  moral  and  intellectual  standard  of  these 

^  Allgevteine   Miss.    Zeitschrift,   1866,    p.   433,  Dr.  Christlieb,   "  Zur    Literatur 
des  Unglaubens  in  Indien." 


THE  LEAVEN  AT  WORK  391 

European  circles  when  India  was  flooded  with  such  trash 
merely  out  of  lust  after  booksellers'  profits.  It  was  no  wonder 
that  the  tracts  based  on  these  works  issued  by  the  Hindu  Tract 
Society — such  as  Jesus  only  a  Man,  One  Hundred  and  Fifty 
Bible  Contradictions,  TJie  Bible  Cutter — were  only  a  degree 
more  vulgar  than  they.^  It  is  of  the  nature  of  things  that 
movements  having  so  weak  an  intellectual  and  so  putrid  a 
moral  basis  should  have  but  a  short  existence.  After  a  few 
years'  red-hot  zeal  and  pompous  advertisement,  the  fervour  of 
this  aggressive  hostility  to  missions  rapidly  subsided.  It  is 
characteristic  that  this  Hindu  Tract  Society  is  essentially  a 
product  of  South  India,  and  that  the  theosophists  had  also 
found  the  most  receptive  soil  for  their  frauds  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  Madras. 

Let  us  mention  in  this  connection  that  from  about  1890 
there  has  been  a  change  in  the  intellectual  level  of  the  writings 
imported  into  India  by  Western  agnosticism  and  atheism. 
The  demands  of  Young  India  have  grown.  It  is  no  longer 
satisfied  with  the  tittle-tattle  of  materialist  tirades.  It  desires 
the  great  scientific  leaders  of  modern  unbelief:  Stuart  Mill, 
Herbert  Spencer,  Charles  Darwin,  the  German  Hackel,and  others 
have  become  its  delectation.  We  must  admit  that  it  greatly 
prefers  the  teachings  of  these  philosophers  and  naturalists, 
when  served  up  in  some  dainty  and  easily  digestible  form  or 
in  the  shape  of  magazine  articles ;  as  for  reading  the  works  of 
these  scholars  in  their  original  form,  most  Indians  have  been 
as  deficient  in  perseverance  as  in  the  necessary  preparatory 
studies.  For  blase  Young  India,  however,  spoilt  by  its  English 
education,  it  is  no  light  consolation  to  be  able  to  fortify  itself 
in  its  materialistic  barrenness  of  spirit  by  the  knowledge  that 
it  is  acquainted  with  the  results  of  the  most  modern  European 
thought. 

These  particular  circles  give  a  hearty  welcome  to  yet 
another  category  of  English  writings,  to  wit,  those  in  which 
English  and  German  scholars  set  forth  the  excellence  and 
beauty  of  ancient  Indian  literature  and  of  the  Indian  religions  ; 
in  this  connection  the  works  of  Professor  Max  Miiller  of  Oxford 
and  of  Professor  Deussen  of  Kiel  are  very  widely  read.  When 
the  latter  sets  out  to  prove  in  detail  that  the  Vedantas  not 
only  contain  the  most  sublime  philosophy,  but  also  the  most 
satisfying  religion,  that  in  their  purest  forms  they  are  the 
strongest  supports  of  morality  and  the  supreme  consolation  in 
all  the  vicissitudes  of  both  life  and  death,  a  Hindu  naturally  asks 

^  An  insight  into  the  character  of  Indian  polemic  literature  of  this  class  is  given 
in  Allgem.  Miss.  Zeicschrif/y  1902,  p.  343,  "  Kine  literarische  Fehde  gegen  das 
Christentum." 


392  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIOxNS 

himself,  "  Why  then  should  I  acquire  the  wisdom  of  foreign 
teachers  ? "  There  can  be  no  manner  of  doubt  that  this 
importation  of  modern  European  unbelief  has  placed  a  most 
serious  obstacle  in  the  way  of  missions,  particularly  as  regards 
English-trained  Young  India,  which  more  and  more  arrogates 
to  itself  the  leadership  of  both  the  public  and  the  intellectual 
life  of  the  country. 

Of  much  greater  importance  than  the  Hindu  Tract 
Society,  however,  is  the  Arya  Samaj,  which  has  its  principal 
sphere  in  the  Punjab  and  its  headquarters  in  Lahore.  During 
the  last  decade  it  has  been  one  of  the  most  prominent  religious 
movements  in  Indian  life,  and  has  proved  a  hindrance  of  some 
magnitude  to  the  work  of  missions. 

Its  founder,  Mul  Shankar,  the  son  of  Amba  Shankar,  known 
by  his  Brahman  name  as  Swami  Dayanand  Saraswati,  was 
born  in  1824  at  a  little  town  in  the  principality  of  Morvi,  in 
Kathiawar.  His  life  falls  into  three  periods  of  almost  equal 
lengths,  1 824-1 845,  1 845-1 863,  and  1 863-1 883.  His  early 
years  were  passed  in  the  home  of  his  Brahman  parents,  whose 
rule  was  according  to  the  strictest  Saivite  customs.  He  lost 
faith  in  idol-worship  whilst  still  only  a  stripling  fourteen 
years  old.  During  a  night  vigil  in  a  temple,  he  saw  mice 
running  up  and  down  upon  the  idol  of  Siva,  and  came  to  the 
conclusion  :  "  It  is  impossible  to  identify  the  idea  of  an  almighty 
and  living  God  with  this  idol,  across  whose  body  mice  run,  and 
which  allows  itself  to  be  polluted  thereby  without  the  slightest 
resistance "  (extract  from  his  incompleted  autobiography). 
When  at  the  age  of  twenty-one  his  father  desired  him  to 
marry,  he  conceived  such  an  insurmountable  objection  to 
marriage  that  he  secretly  left  the  house  of  his  parents  and 
fled. 

Then  for  nearly  twenty  years  he  led  the  customary  life  of 
a  wandering  saint,  of  a  Sannyasi,  possessed  continually,  however, 
by  a  consuming  thirst  for  knowledge,  which  led  him  to  visit  all 
the  most  famous  ascetics  and  teachers.  First  he  was  introduced 
by  Vedanta  teachers  at  Baroda  and  various  other  places 
to  the  depths  of  their  philosophy,  and  from  them  he  received 
the  name  by  which  he  became  famous.  Their  teaching,  however, 
failed  to  engage  his  affections  permanently,  and  he  turned 
to  the  Sankhya  Yoga  teaching,  at  the  sacred  Abu  Mountain 
in  Rajputana,  where  he  studied  zealously  during  a  period  of 
eight  years.  (In  contrast  to  the  strictly  monastic  Vedanta, 
it  maintains  the  existence  of  two  great  original  principles, 
soul  and  matter,  whence  it  is  often  called  "  dwaita,"  or  "  the 
teaching  of  the  two  principles.")  But  the  determining 
religious  influence  of  his  life  was  exercised  by  a  blind  Vedic 


THE  LEAVEN  AT  WORK  393 

scholar,  Swami  Virajancla  of  Muttra,  a  foe  to  modern  Sanskrit 
literature,  who  only  received  Dayanand  as  his  disciple  on  con- 
dition that  he  discarded  all  his  modern  Sanskrit  books — the 
Puranas  and  Tantras.  For  eight  long  years  Virajanda 
instructed  him  in  the  deep  lore  of  the  Vedas,  and  finally  dis- 
missed him  with  his  blessing,  and  the  words :  "  Go  forth  into 
the  world  and  bring  light  to  mankind."  It  is  remarkable  that 
a  man  like  Dayanand  should  have  found  it  possible  to  study 
for  twenty  years  in  modern  British  India  without  once  coming 
into  close  contact  with  Western  civilisation ;  but  he  never  even 
learnt  English.  During  the  last  twenty  years  of  his  life 
Dayanand  journeyed  to  and  fro  as  a  wandering  teacher  of 
religion  in  North  India,  arguing  and  disputing,  with  equal 
severity  and  unrelenting  gruffness  of  demeanour,  with  Brahmans 
and  missionaries  alike.  Warfare  against  idol-worship  was  an 
essential  part  of  his  life-work  ;  upon  the  priests  at  idol  temples 
and  their  apologists  he  mercilessly  poured  forth  vials  of  the 
bitterest  mockery  and  keenest  reasoning.  For  a  time  he  allied 
himself  with  the  theosophist  Olcott,  but  later  severed  all  con- 
nection with  him,  nor  did  relations  with  the  Brahmo  Samaj 
and  similar  associations  prove  any  more  satisfactory  to  him. 
On  the  loth  of  April  1875  he  founded  in  Bombay  the  Arya 
Samaj, which  did  not,  however,  gain  a  footing  in  Western  India; 
it  found  acceptance  almost  entirely  in  the  North,  in  the  Punjab, 
and  the  neighbouring  districts.  On  the  30th  of  October  1883 
he  died  at  Ajmer. 

Both  by  his  doctrine  and  its  tendencies,  Dayanand  belongs 
wholly  to  the  rcvivalistic  movement  outlined  above.  He  too 
sought  solely  to  regenerate  India  by  a  return  to  the  ancient 
sources  of  inspiration,  only  he  went  a  stage  farther  back, 
beyond  the  mediaeval  age  of  the  Puranas  and  the  epochs  of  the 
Pirahmanas  and  the  Upanishads,  to  the  Vedas  themselves. 
"  Back  to  the  Vedas "  was  the  warcry  of  his  life.  Without 
doubt  this  was  a  happy,  nay  a  fruitful  idea ;  for  on  the  one  hand 
the  Vedas  are  regarded  by  Indians  of  the  most  diverse  schools 
of  thought  as  of  supreme  authority,  and  on  the  other  they 
represent  a  comparatively  pure  form  of  religion,  replete  with 
sound  morals  and  suggestions  of  lines  along  which  subsequent 
devolopment  may  ensue.  That  the  inspired  representative  of 
classical  Indian  antiquity  should  have  united  with  these  efforts 
a  political  battle-cry  of"  India  for  the  Indians,"  and  a  hope  that 
a  new  India,  once  more  drawing  its  life-power  from  the  Vedas, 
should  arise  to  become  an  empire  clothed  in  all  its  ancient 
glory  and  superior  to  all  its  enemies,  is  easily  understood,  and 
was  in  no  wise  dangerous,  since  Dayanand  refrained  from 
political  agitation.     But   for   this  very  reason  he  was  the  less 


394  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

acceptable  to  both  the  other  religions,  Islam  and  Christianity, 
working  alongside  of  him.  For  neither  of  these  are  of  Indian 
origin,  and,  according  to  his  view,  they  had  no  business  there 
and  ought  to  be  rooted  out  no  matter  at  how  great  a  cost.  His 
polemics,  especially  against  Christianity,  are  therefore  unspeak- 
ably violent  and  unjust,  and  can  scarcely  be  paralleled  in  the 
whole  literature  of  religious  controversy.  Since  his  followers 
also  attack  Christianity  and  Christian  missions  with  equal 
bitterness,  we  have  in  this  party  yet  another  malignant  ad- 
versary of  missionary  progress. 

Dayanand's  main  idea,  "  Nothing  but  the  Vedas,"  would 
have  had  much  in  its  favour  if  it  had  been  accompanied  by  a 
sound  material  principle ;  that  is  to  say,  if  the  prophet  of  the 
Vedas  had  only  had  sufficient  scientific  insight,  sound  historical 
judgment,  and  prophetic  discernment  rightly  to  grasp  and  to 
reproduce  that  which  was  permanently  of  value  and  of  true 
significance  in  the  Vedas.  But  for  this  he  had  neither  the 
necessary  intelligence  nor  the  education.  His  philosophical 
bias  was  of  the  Sankhya  school,  whose  dual  principle  he 
enlarged  to  a  triple  one,  God,  the  soul,  and  matter,  a  trinity  it 
was  impossible  to  defend  against  any  skilful  attack,  and  which 
in  any  case  found  no  justification  in  the  Vedas.  In  another 
direction,  too,  we  can  see  how  truly  and  essentially  "  Indian  " 
was  his  thought,  namely,  by  his  retention  of  the  doctrine  of 
the  transmigration  of  souls,  and  of  an  impersonal  principle  of 
retribution.  Karma,  regulating  that  transmigration.  No  more 
than  in  the  previous  case,  however,  are  these  two  conceptions, 
which  have  played  such  an  important  role  in  the  later  philo- 
sophies, to  be  traced  to  the  older  Vedas.  Further,  his  actual 
mode  of  expressing  his  fundamental  principle  led  Dayanand 
to  the  conclusion  that  all  knowledge  and  perception  the  human 
mind  has  hitherto  attained,  or  will  attain  unto,  must  exist,  at 
least  germinally,  in  the  Vedas.  All  the  discoveries  of  modern 
science,  railways,  telegraphs,  steam-boats,  and  steam-engines, 
may  be  derived,  according  to  his  ideas,  from  the  Vedas.  In 
short,  Dayanand  was  incapable  of  allowing  the  Vedas  to  speak 
for  themselves,  or  of  absorbing  their  spirit  and  substance;  he 
compelled  them  rather  to  affirm  precisely  what  suited  his  con- 
venience for  the  time  being.  In  fact,  that  peculiar  and  highly 
arbitrary  cxegetical  principle  which  has  been  called  after  him, 
the  Dayanandi,  is  very  truly  the  secret  and  shibboleth  of  his 
school.  No  scientific  methods,  no  historically  critical  exegesis, 
but  simply  the  caprice  of  Dayanand,  and  in  some  cases  that  of 
his  most  famous  disciple  Gurudatta,  are  to  decide  the  meaning 
of  any  given  passage.  He  who  does  not  bow  to  such  an  ex- 
planation, who  does  not  accept  it  unconditionally,  must  submit 


THE  LEAVEN  AT  WORK  395 

to  being  ridiculed  as  an  ignoramus,  an  "arch-fool."  The 
rightful  conception  of  the  Vedas  and  their  age,  the  description 
of  the  conditions  therein  existent,  are  all  in  the  highest 
degree  arbitrary  and  fantastic,  and  render  the  main  idea 
scientifically  valueless,  and  open  to  attack  from  all  sides,  from 
the  Brahman  as  well  as  the  Christian  camp.  To  complete 
his  misfortunes,  Dayanand  formulated  some  doctrines  on  his 
own  account  that  are  as  un-Indian  as  they  are  un-Vedic,  and 
whose  appearance  in  this  connection  has  never  been  clearly 
explained,  even  by  his  most  devoted  followers.  The  worst 
of  these  is  the  Niyoga,  or  "  free-love  doctrine."  According 
to  it,  any  man  or  woman  may  on  the  most  trivial  grounds 
break  the  marriage  vow  without  fear  of  punishment,  and 
cohabit  with  others  according  to  choice,  whether  widows 
or  widowers,  husbands  or  wives.  Happily,  the  school  has 
never  attempted  to  translate  this  dissolute  teaching  into 
practice. 

However  feeble  and  untenable  Dayanand's  teaching  was 
from  the  scientific  or  historical  standpoint,  nevertheless  the 
admiration  for  the  Vedas  and  the  Vedic  era  which  was  effected 
therein,  and  its  warm  patriotic  enthusiasm  for  India's  antiquity 
and  future,  sufficed,  as  we  have  already  mentioned,  to  procure 
for  the  Arya  Samaj — as  well  as  the  high-sounding  name  of  the 
"  Noble  Order  of  the  Aryans "  —  a  considerable  following, 
particularly  in  the  Punjab  and  the  United  Provinces.  Soon 
after  the  death  of  its  founder,  however,  the  Samaj  split  up  into 
two  parties,  the  Mansis  and  Ghasis,  the  flesh-eaters  and  the 
vegetarians,  who  in  spite  of  occasional  rapprochements  are  so 
mutually  opposed  to  one  another  that  they  have  distinct  and 
entirely  independent  party  organisations  ;  we  ought,  therefore, 
really  to  speak  of  two  Arya  Samajes.  Their  point  of  difference 
is  found  in  their  respective  attitudes  to  their  founder.  The 
vegetarians  contend,  on  the  one  hand,  that  Dayanand  was  a 
great  Rishi  and  prophet ;  his  word  is  unconditionally  binding, 
and  none  but  an  equally  great  Rishi  may  change  one  jot  or 
tittle  of  it.  The  more  liberal  flesh-eaters,  on  the  other  hand, 
speak  less  extravagantly  of  the  inspiration  and  infallibility 
of  the  Master.  His  teaching  is  in  the  main  correct,  but  is  not 
in  every  detail  incontrovertible.  In  trifling  matters  of  doctrine 
all  who  have  received  an  adequate  scientific  education  may 
rightly  hold  varying  views.  In  other  words,  the  flesh-eaters 
desire  to  hold  the  way  open  for  scientific  progress.  They  are 
therefore  zealous  advocates  of  education,  as  regards  which,  in 
remarkable  contrast  to  their  founder,  they  have  heartily 
fallen  into  line  with  the  Indian  educational  system.  Their 
Dayanand  Anglo- Vedic  College  at  Lahore  is  the  best  attended 


396  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

educational  establishment  in  that  city,  and  in  the  whole  Punjab. 
The  other  more  consistent  and  biased  party  solemnly  main- 
tains the  exclusive  authority  of  the  Vedas,  sanctions  only  an 
education  in  Sanskrit  confined  to  the  archaic  methods  of  the 
Talmudists,  and  has  inaugurated  in  the  village  of  Kangri,  near 
Hardwar,  a  Vedic  College,  or  so-called  "  Gurukula."  Both 
parties  are  zealous  in  propaganda,  and  support  a  paid  staff  of 
itinerant  preachers  to  disseminate  their  doctrines.  In  all  the 
cities  of  the  Punjab,  in  most  of  those  of  the  United  Provinces,  and 
as  far  as  the  centre  of  Northern  India,  there  are  branch  Samajes. 
It  is  further  remarkable  that  in  the  Punjab  the  movement  has  been 
confined  almost  entirely  to  the  cities,  whereas  in  the  United 
Provinces  it  is  the  open  country  which  has  principally  been 
influenced  by  it.  Various  explanations  are  offered  for  the  fact 
that  the  Punjab  has  become  the  headquarters  of  the  new  move- 
ment. Some  say  that  because  of  the  close  juxtaposition  of 
Hindus  and  Muhammadans  the  caste  system  is  there  consider- 
ably weakened,  and  Muhammadan  and  Sikh  influences  have 
there  awakened  in  Hinduism  a  strong  monotheistic  tendency. 
Others  affirm  that  as  far  as  Sanskrit  learning  is  concerned,  the 
Punjab  is  behind  all  other  provinces  of  India,  and  that  this 
ignorance  is  responsible  for  many  people  joining  a  sect  bearing 
such  a  strong  stamp  of  orthodoxy  upon  it.  The  number  of  the 
adherents  of  the  Samaj  has  increased  during  the  last  decade  by 
about  25,000 — that  is,  from  41,000  to  67,107.  Authorities  in  the 
Punjab  appear  to  be  unanimous  in  the  belief  that  the  movement 
has  no  great  future  to  expect.  "  After  carefully  weighing  over 
the  whole  matter,  I  have  come  to  the  conclusion,"  says  Professor 
Campbell  Oman,i  "  j-^^t  the  most  promising  outlook  the  Arya 
Samaj  can  have  is  to  become  an  unimportant  sect  amongst  the 
myriads  into  which  Hinduism  is  divided."  Nevertheless,  there 
are  those  both  in  the  Punjab  and  in  the  United  Provinces 
who  claim  for  the  Samaj  a  rapid  and  not  inconsiderable  growth 
in  influence. 

Akin  in  spirit  to  the  Arj'a  Samaj,  though  to  all  outward 
appearances  having  no  direct  connection  with  it,  is  the  movement 
initiated  in  Madras  by  the  distinguished  Brahman,  Ragunath 
Rao  Bahadur,  a  former  Prime  Minister  of  the  state  of  Indore. 
He  has  been  to  a  certain  extent  under  Christian  influences,  as  is 
seen  from  the  fact  that  a  Catechism  for  Hindus  which  he  has 
compiled  was  copied  in  part  from  the  Presbyterian  Catechism  ! 
He  desired,  however,  to  protect  the  rising  generation  of  Hindus 
from  the  influences  of  the  mission  schools,  and  therefore  founded 
in  Madras  a  "National  College"  on  a  strictly  Hindu  founda- 
tion.    He  was  a  somewhat  listless  though  eloquent  advocate 

^  Iiidiati  Life,  p.  23. 


THE  LEAVEN  AT  WORK  397 

of  social  reform,  of  a  confused  though  very  well-meaning 
cast  of  mind,  and  in  consequence  has  exerted  no  abiding 
influence. 

The  Bombay  Presidency,  too,  has  had  its  own  Samaj,  though 
this  has  not  had  one  tithe  of  the  importance  possessed  by  the 
Brahmo  Samaj  in  Bengal  or  the  Arya  Samaj  in  the  Punjab.  It 
is  called  the  Prathana  Samaj  ("  Prayer  Society ").  P'ounded 
on  March  31st,  1867,  it  counts  branch  societies  in  nearly  all  the 
important  towns,  though  it  cannot  point  to  any  considerable 
number  of  adherents.  Its  object  is  the  propagation  of  a  colour- 
less form  of  theism.  Article  I.  of  its  creed  runs  :  "  God  is  the 
Creator  of  the  universe  ;  He  is  the  only  true  God ;  there  is  no 
God  beside  Him  ;  He  is  eternal,  spiritual,  immortal ;  .  .  .  the 
Saviour  of  sinners."  Article  II.:  "Worshipping  Him  can  alone 
lead  to  happiness  in  this  and  in  the  other  world."  Article  IV. : 
"  To  pray  to,  and  to  adore  images  or  other  created  things  is 
not  the  right  way  to  worship  God."  Article  V. :  "  God  does 
not  become  man,  no  book  contains  a  direct  and  infallible 
revelation  of  God."  This  Samaj  has  never  attained  to  any 
extensive  vitality. 

Alongside  of  these  organised  efforts  at  a  revival  of  Hinduism, 
we  find  numerous  other  attempts  of  a  private  character.  They 
derive  their  motive  power  from  national  feeling,  a  feeling  which 
is  becoming  more  and  more  active  every  day.  This  sentiment 
lies  at  the  root  of  the  whole  revival  movement,  and  gives  it  its 
signal  success.  In  the  unrest  and  irritation  against  Christianity 
which  is  to-day  everywhere  finding  expression,  a  burning 
patriotic  yearning  after  the  unity  of  the  Bharata  Khanda,  the 
old  land  of  intellect,  is  clearly  asserting  itself  The  greatness  of 
this  land,  so  we  are  told,  is  to  consist  neither  in  military  prowess 
nor  in  industrial  activity,  but  in  its  intellectual  insight  and 
knowledge. 

The  attempts  to  bring  about  a  revival  of  Hinduism  are,  it 
must  be  confessed,  extremely  divergent.^  Indian  antiquity 
offers  an  infinite  number  of  types  and  forms,  one  of  which  seems 
suitable  for  the  renovation  process  to  one  person,  another  to 
another.  In  Bengal  some  believe  they  are  rendering  a  service 
to  their  mother  country  by  giving  to  the  press  hitherto  un- 
published Tantra  documents,  books  on  magic,  amulets  and 
charms, — some  of  them  entirely  in  red  letters, — which  are  said 
to  heal  all  diseases,  to  bring  good  fortune,  to  kill  enemies,  to 
bewitch  women,  and    even   to   raise   the   dead.      The   literary 

^  It  is  worthy  of  note  that  this  same  "  national  "  feeling  has  manifested  itself,  e.^^., 
in  trade  and  in  commerce.  Especially  in  Bengal  has  the  Swadeshi  movement  been 
talked  about  recently  (1905) ;  its  object  is  to  persuade  Hindus — tradesmen  as  well  as 
private  individuals — to  buy  and  sell  Indian  goods  only,  and  thus  to  drive  all  English 
articles  of  commerce  from  the  market. 


398  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

adviser  of  the  Anglo-Indian  Government  remarks  there- 
upon :  "  The  old  mages  were  far  wiser  than  their  young 
successors,  for  they  forbade  the  publication  of  these  writings, 
and  declared  that  such  secrets  lost  their  virtue  when  they  were 
exposed  to  the  eyes  of  the  uninitiated."  Others  think  they  can 
defend  popular  idolatry  with  the  weapons  of  modern  science. 
The  Puranas  and  the  Gospels  are  for  them  of  equal  merit ;  if 
Krishna  be  legendary,  then  so  also  is  Christ.  Has  not  a 
modern  radical  Biblical  Encyclopaedia  narrowed  down  the 
authentic  sayings  of  Jesus  to  two  or  three?  Even  if  Hindu 
mythology  be  untrue  as  history,  it  is  at  any  rate  a  useful  fiction. 
And  it  is  so  easy,  and  gives  such  splendid  play  for  nimble 
intellects,  to  explain  away  the  inconvenient  features  of  the 
legends.  And  therefore  in  both  English  and  Bengali  the  Hindus 
are  equally  active  in  reconciling  and  explaining  away  con- 
tradictory texts,  in  allegorising  repugnant  details,  or  in  declaring 
them  to  be  interpolations.  This  form  of  intellectual  diversion 
has  been  specially  cultivated  by  worshippers  of  Vishnu  and 
his  incarnations,  and  particularly  of  Krishna  and  his  great 
Bengali  prophet,  Chaitanya.  During  the  last  decade  a  large 
number  of  works,  some  of  them  of  much  erudition,  have  been 
written  by  this  school.  Dr.  Nanda  Krishna  Bose,  in  his  work 
on  "  Incarnation,"  attempts  to  prove  that  the  doctrine  of  God 
becoming  man  is  not  contradictory  to  science,  and  that 
Chaitanya's  life  and  teaching  offer  a  more  complete  religious 
ideal  than  those  of  Christ.  Shishir  Kumar  Ghose  has  written 
a  book  of  674  pages  in  two  volumes,  entitled  Lord  Gouranga,  or 
Salvation  for  All.  "  Gouranga"  is  the  popular  name  for  Chaitanya 
as  an  incarnation  of  Vishnu.  Sil,  in  his  work  Comparative 
Studies  of  Vishnuism  and  Christianity,  maintains  that  Vishnuism 
is  being  called  upon  to  make  the  Christian  idea  of  the  Godhead 
and  of  the  relations  subsisting  between  man  and  God  the 
common  property  of  the  race.  A  whole  pile  of  books  vie  in  the 
thankless  task  of  purifying  Krishna's  life  from  its  supernatural 
and  immoral  features  and  in  transforming  the  God  into  a 
kind  of  nineteenth-century  gentleman.  The  Anglo-Bengali 
magazine,  the  Librarian,  rightly  remarks  there  can  be  no 
doubt  that  this  entire  tendency  in  the  religious  thought  of  the 
Hindus  is  called  forth  at  any  rate  as  much  by  the  dissemination 
of  Christian  ideas  as  by  the  study  of  Hindu  literature,  for 
Christian  influences  can  be  easily  recognised  in  all  these 
publications  (dating  from  the  year  1899  or  thereabouts).  A 
similar  tendency  is  shown  by  the  efforts  of  the  recently 
established  Society  for  the  Revival  of  Indian  Literature, 
which  by  cheap  editions  of  the  classics  and  by  writings  about 
them  seeks  to  stimulate  interest  in  and  a  knowledge  of  classic 


THE  LEAVEN  AT  WORK  399 

Sanskrit  literature.  In  the  United  Provinces  there  have 
appeared  a  "  Radha  Swami  "  movement  and  a  "  Ram  Krishna  " 
mission,  each  endeavouring  in  its  own  fashion  to  ideaHse  and  to 
modernise  the  Krishna  legend. 

The  main  stream  of  Indian  thought  and  philosophy  to-day- 
is  along  the  lines  marked  gut  by  the  Vedanta  philosophy ;  the 
Upanishads,  the  "  hidden  teachings  of  the  Vedas,  the  finest 
flower  of  ancient  Indian  thought,"  and  the  Bhagavad  Gita,  "the 
idol  of  the  country,  the  fairest  and  noblest  of  all  Brahmanical 
writings,"  stand  in  the  forefront  of  public  interest.  "  The 
Vedanta  philosophy  supersedes  all  other  systems  as  the  plan  of 
salvation.  Upanishads  and  Bhagavad  Gita  enter  into  competi- 
tion with  the  gospel  of  Christ,"  writes  Dr.  Jones  of  Madura,  an 
experienced  missionary.  Especially  is  the  Bhagavad  Gita — 
without  dispute  a  most  valuable  book,  and  the  noblest 
monument  of  Hinduism — esteemed  beyond  measure  as  the 
Bible  of  India.  Thousands  daily  receive  therefrom  edification. 
The  Hindu  revivalist  contends  that  he  is  striving  to  regain  the 
lost  intellectual  position  of  his  race;  people  who  can  expound 
the  Shastras  and  set  forth  the  Hindu  ideal  of  life  quickly  win 
a  reputation.  No  small  number  of  those  who  have  received  an 
English  education  and  who  hold  high  offices  of  state  employ 
their  leisure  in  the  study  of  their  forefathers'  world  of  thought. 
The  assertion  that  the  Vedanta  doctrine  is  all-embracing  and 
inimitable  in  its  architectonic  construction  and  that  it  is  in 
complete  harmony  with  the  progress  of  modern  scientific 
thought  is  emphatically  defended.  Since  about  the  middle 
of  last  century  two  well-edited  English  magazines,  issued  by 
India  scholars,  the  Bi-ahniavadin  ("  The  Comprehender  of 
Brahma")  and  the  Prabuddha  Bharata  ("Awakened  India"), 
have  been  published  in  Madras  to  voice  this  Vedantic  point 
of  view ;  their  object  is  also  to  stimulate  the  study  of  the 
same,  and  "  ever  to  hold  on  high  the  lofty  and  universal  ideal 
of  Hinduism."  The  first  of  these  periodicals  is  peculiarly  the 
organ  for  the  exposition  of  the  religious  thought  of  India  in 
English. 

Although  there  is  doubtless  in  this  whole  movement  a 
certain  religious  spirit  at  work  beneath  these  old  forms  of 
Hinduism,  we  must  none  the  less  remember  that  the  revival 
movement  itself  is  kept  alive  far  more  by  national  and 
intellectual  pride  than  by  deep  religious  feeling.  It  is  not  so 
much  the  result  of  an  honest  conviction  concerning  the 
superiority  of  the  particular  doctrines  and  institutions  of 
Hinduism  singled  out  for  attention,  as  a  patriotic  attempt  to 
harmonise  their  ideals  with  those  of  Christianity,  whose  advance 
can  be  perceived  in  every  part  of  the  globe.     A  certain  proud 


400  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

self-consciousness — that  there  can  be  nothing  in  Christianity 
which  research  cannot  discover  in  Hinduism — and  a  fertile 
criticism  of  traditional  and  nominal  Christianity,  are  the 
characteristics  of  the  religious  movement  of  the  last  decade.^ 
The  evangelisation  of  the  Hindus  as  a  people  is,  in  the  opinion 
of  Young  India,  as  far  off  as  the  Millennium,  "  There  is  room 
enough  in  the  world  for  both  Hinduism  and  Christianity," 
Unhappily  this  too  general  pseudo-patriotic  spirit  blinds  many  of 
their  best  men  to  the  honest  study  of  the  religious  problem. 
For  far  too  large  a  number  religious  truths  are  little  more  than 
objects  upon  which  to  exercise  their  ingenuity  and  opportunities 
for  airing  their  dialectics.  Too  much  criticism  and  disputation, 
too  little  serious  investigation  and  solid  thinking,  are  the  signs 
of  the  times.  And  the  aimless  steering  hither  and  thither  of 
the  revival,  as  new  examples  of  the  multitudinous  features  of  the 
religion  and  literature  of  ancient  India  are  picked  out  and 
brought  into  prominence,  lend  it  no  element  of  hope,  no 
prospect  of  enduring  success. 


4.  Corresponding  Movements  in  Indian 

muhammadanism 

One  often  hears  and  reads  the  assertion  that,  whilst 
Hinduism  has  responded  with  an  astonishing  degree  of 
receptivity  to  every  religious  enterprise  undertaken  by  Chris- 
tian missions,  the  latter  have  not  as  yet  been  able  to  exert 
the  least  abiding  influence  upon  Indian  Muhammadanism. 
That  is  absolutely  untrue.  The  leaven  of  Western  culture 
and  of  missionary  activity  is  also  at  work  amongst 
the  Indian  followers  of  Islam,  though  the  results  assume 
other  and  more  abstruse  forms,  and  they  are  not  equally 
large  in  every  province.  Of  the  62h  millions  of  Indian 
Muhammadans,  fully  two-fifths  reside  in  Bengal,  especially  in 
the  eastern  part  of  Lower  Bengal,  where  they  generally 
constitute  the  lower  class  village  population,  living  in  the 
densest  ignorance,  and  taking  practically  no  part  at  all  in 
the  modern  intellectual  life  and  development  of  India.  Their 
Muhammadanism  is  so  interpenetrated  with  low  Hindu  and 
pagan  elements  that  the  Census  officials  were  often  in 
doubt  whether  to  reckon  certain  groups  under  the  heading  of 
Muhammadans  or  Hindus.     Their  language,  too,  a  remarkable 

^  The  protean-shaped  character  of  Hinduism  is  demonstrated  by  the  fact  that  to-day 
it  is  striving  to  accentuate  those  features  in  its  mollusc-lilvc  system  which  it  is  most  easily 
possible  to  bring  into  harmony  with  Christianity.  This  unlimited  faculty  of  adapta- 
tion, however,  is  quite  as  much  a  weakness  as  a  strength  of  this  religion  ;  for  it 
proves  to  the  sincere  investigator  the  absence  of  a  real  content  of  truth. 


THE  LEAVEN  AT  WORK  401 

and  capriciously  mingled  compound  of  Bengali  and  Urdu, 
the  so-called  "  Mussalmani  Bengali,"  renders  them  very  diffi- 
cult of  access.  There  can  be  scarcely  any  question  of  intellectual 
activity  amongst  these  indolent  masses.  All  that  is  done  is 
that  educated  Muhammadans  of  the  towns  and  cities  send  out 
itinerant  preachers  to  dissipate  to  some  slight  extent  the 
darkness  that  exists  in  the  minds  of  their  co-religionists. 

Nor  are  the  Muhammadans  of  South  India  distinguished 
for  mental  vigour.  The  sole  movement  amongst  them  is  that 
headed  by  three  apostates,  White  of  Karnal,  Hamid  Snow, 
a  Eurasian,  and  the  somewhat  better  known  Abdullah  Ouilliam, 
who  has  founded  the  "  New  Sect  of  the  Nazarenes,"  noteworthy 
because  of  its  having  been  transplanted  by  Mr.  Quilliam  to 
Liverpool,  where  it  has  gained  some  foothold  by  means  of 
the  "Moslem  Institute."  Mr.  White,  or  White  Khan  Sahib 
as  he  is  called  in  India,  is,  according  to  all  appearance,  the 
actual  founder ;  its  adherents  are  required,  in  accordance  with 
the  example  of  Jesus,  to  know  something  of  carpentry ;  they 
use  at  prayer,  as  well  as  Arabic,  which  they  do  not  understand, 
Urdu,  which  they  do  ;  their  women  may  attend  the  services 
at  the  mosques,  and  so  on.  The  law  of  Moses  is  unconditionally 
binding  upon  them  ;  of  the  New  Testament  they  recognise  the 
Gospel  according  to  St.  Matthew,  but  reject  the  writings  of 
both  St.  John  and  St.  Paul.  A  pilgrimage  to  Nazareth  is 
one  of  the  most  important  of  their  religious  duties.  The 
whole  movement  is  obviously  a  confused  and  aimless  mixture 
of  Islam  and  Christianity,  without  inward  inspiration  or 
strength.^ 

The  only  parts  of  India  in  which  Muhammadanism  has 
hitherto  given  evidence  of  independent  vitality  are  the  United 
Provinces  and  the  Punjab,  and  there  interest  concentrates  around 
the  names  of  Sir  Syed  Ahmed  Khan  and  Mirza  Ghulam 
Ahmed  of  Qadian.  Syed  Ahmed  and  his  party — especially 
Chiragh  Ali,  the  "  Maulvi,"  and  Amir  Ali,  a  judge  of  the 
High  Court  of  Calcutta — seek  to  bring  Islam  into  fresh  vogue  by 
recognising  and  adopting  the  sum  total  of  Western  knowledge, 

1  A  great  deal  has  been  made  in  the  Muhammadan  world  of  Mr.  Quilliam's 
Moslem  propaganda  in  Liverpool.  It  has  been  loudly  proclaimed,  both  in  the 
Punjab  and  in  Muhammadan  Bengal,  that  crowds  of  Englishmen  were  being 
converted  to  Islam.  The  Sultan  has  even  conferred  upon  Mr.  Quilliam  the  dis- 
tinguished title  of  a  Sheikh-ul-Islam.  English  missionaries,  for  their  own  sake, 
caused  the  most  diligent  inquiries  to  be  made  at  Liverpool,  and  ascertained  that 
the  entire  membership  of  the  adherents  of  the  apostates  was  some  eleven  men, 
half  a  dozen  women,  and  a  dozen  children,  mostly  belonging  to  the  very  lowest 
classes  of  the  people,  and  dependent  on  Mr.  Quilliam  financially.  His  religious 
services  are  a  turbid  and  arbitrary  medley  of  Christian  and  Muhammadan 
elements,  which  no  orthodox  Moslem  would  have  anything  to  do  with.  The 
whole  affair  is  humbug! — Cf.  Indian  Evangelical  Review,  1 901,  p.  119. 
26 


402  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

particularly  natural  science  and  its  allied  branches  of  study. 
They  teach  that  reason  alone  is  a  sufficient  guide.  The  Islam 
of  the  last  thirteen  centuries  is  not  the  real  Islam,  but  one  built 
up  by  Ulama,  a  scholarly  theologian,  who,  they  assert,  com- 
pletely misunderstood  the  spirit  of  the  Koran  and  of  tradition. 
In  consequence  of  this,  the  first  converts  of  Muhammad  soon 
relapsed  from  the  teachings  of  his  holy  religion  into  the  folly 
of  the  "  times  of  ignorance."  Accordingly,  Sir  Syed  Ahmed's 
teaching  is  termed  "  New  Islam."  His  creed  is,  "  Islam  is 
nature,  nature  is  Islam " ;  Divine  revelation  (in  the  orthodox 
sense),  prophecy,  miracles,  incarnation,  and  inspiration,  are 
therefore  rejected.  A  prophet  is  a  man  peculiarly  endowed 
with  a  genius  for  the  discovery  and  investigation  of  moral 
and  spiritual  truth ;  this  special  equipment  constitutes  his 
"  inspiration."  Every  message  from  God  must  be  tested 
rather  by  human  reason  than  by  any  miracles  of  soi-disant 
celestial  origin. 

It  will  easily  be  understood  that  teaching  of  this  kind  met 
with  violent  opposition  on  the  part  of  orthodox  Muhammadan- 
ism,  for  what  else  is  it  than  the  rationalisimis  vulgaris  in 
Muhammadan  garb.  Nevertheless,  Sir  Syed  Ahmed  has 
gained  a  considerable  following,  and  founded  a  sect,  the 
members  of  which  are  termed  by  their  opponents  the  Naturis 
(from  the  English  "nature")  or  Syed  Ahmedis.  Their 
strong  point  is  their  College,  which  was  founded  by  Sir  Syed 
at  Aligarh  in  1878,  and  which  aims  at  becoming  a  great 
Moslem  university.  The  reform  of  education  generally,  and 
particularly  of  girls'  education,  and  other  social  aims  are  also 
items  in  their  programme,  and  eager  attempts  are  made  by 
means  of  annual  conferences  held  in  the  great  towns  to 
promote  these  and  similar  objects.  Sir  Syed  Ahmed  died  in 
the  year  1898. 

Whilst  the  appearance  of  such  a  man  is  easily  accounted  for 
by  the  collision  between  a  fossilised  Islamic  civilisation  and  the 
modern  civilisation  of  the  West, — being  in  himself  an  eloquent 
testimony  to  the  superiority  of  the  latter, — Ghulam  Ahmed  of 
Oadian,  on  the  other  hand,  is  a  wild  and  confused  mixture  of 
elements,  an  extraordinary  plant  of  the  marshes,  grown  in  the 
weed-covered  labyrinth  of  Muhammadan  theology,  and  at  the 
same  time  nurtured  by  the  light  and  sun  of  Christianity. 
Ghulam  is  a  remarkable  man.  He  writes  clever  books,  and  in 
such  elegant  Urdu,  Persian,  and  Arabic  that  he  is  able  to 
challenge  his  opponents  in  the  most  graceful  Arabic  literary 
articles  to  admit  or  to  disprove  his  divine  mission  ;  besides  this 
he  has  also  inaugurated  an  English  magazine.  The  Review  of 
Religions^  the  lengthy  pages  of  which  he  fills  almost  single- 


THE  LEAVEN  AT  WORK  403 

handed.  He  has  not  only  read  the  Old  and  New  Testaments 
thoroughly,  but  is  likewise  acquainted  with  certain  apocryphal 
works  such  as,  c.g.^  the  "  Gospel  according  to  Barnabas,"  and 
with  novels  such  as  that  of  the  Russian  author,  Nicolas  Notovitch, 
The  Unknoiv7i  Life  of  Christ.  But  he  lacks  every  atom  of 
critical  discernment  in  estimating  the  relative  worth  and 
credibility  of  these  writings.  He  studies  both  Christian  and 
Muhammadan  theology,  yet  falls  a  victim  to  the  most  astound- 
ing and  contradictory  superstitions.  In  his  pretensions  no  one 
would  term  him  modest.  He  claims  to  be  the  Christian 
Messiah,  returned  according  to  His  promise,  and  likewise  the 
promised  Mahdi  of  the  Muhammadans — at  one  and  the  same 
time  !  And  it  is  really  most  remarkable  to  see  how  he  justifies 
such  high  assumptions.  He  does  not  pretend  to  be  the  same 
Messiah  as  He  who  lived  in  Palestine  nineteen  hundred  years 
ago ;  he  merely  maintains  that  he  has  come  "  in  the  spirit  and 
power  of  the  Messiah"  just  as  John  the  Baptist,  to  use  the 
Lord's  own  words,  came  "  in  the  spirit  and  power  of  Elias." 
He  tells  us  Christians  that  our  resurrection  hope  is  erroneous, 
Christ  did  not  die  on  the  cross,  but  after  remaining  there  for  a 
few  hours  was  taken  down  apparently  dead ;  the  disciples 
healed  His  wounds  in  a  few  days  with  some  most  wonderful 
ointment,  the  "  Marham-i-Isa,"  or  "Jesus  ointment,"  which  is 
still  sold  as  a  charm  in  India ;  Jesus  then  proceeded  to  India, 
where  He  died  at  Srinagar  at  the  age  of  120.  He  was  buried 
there  in  the  Kan  Yar  Street,  where  the  grave  of  "  Yusasaf "  {i.e. 
of  Yusa,  Jesus,  the  Asaf  (Hebrew),  the  gatherer,  i.e.  of  the  lost 
sheep  or  in  other  words,  of  the  ten  lost  tribes  of  Israel),^  is  still 
pointed  out.  Allah  had  first  sent  Moses  the  lawgiver  to  Israel, 
then,  about  1400  years  later,  the  Messiah.  Now  in  Deuteronomy 
xviii.  18,  a  prophet  like  unto  Moses  is  promised  from  among 
his  "  brethren,"  who  are,  of  course,  the  Ishmaelites  ;  this  prophet 
was  Mahomet,  the  Moses  of  the  Ishmaelites;  thus,  if  Ishmael 
were  to  receive  a  Moses,  God  must  of  course  send  them  a 
Messiah,  1400  years  after  Moses;  and  he,  Ghulam,  is  that 
Messiah.  On  the  sixth  day  God  created  Adam  ;  now  with  God 
a  thousand  years  are  as  one  day,  consequently  at  the  beginning 
of  the  sixth  period  of  a  thousand  years  God  must  have  created 
the  second  Adam,  and  of  course,  he,  Ghulam,  is  that  second 
Adam.  Just  as  God  placed  Adam  in  a  garden  "  towards  the 
east"  (Gen.  ii.  8),  so  only,  as  a  matter  of  course,  could  the 
second  Adam  appear  in  the  east,  i.e.  in  India.  If  any  one  should 
further   doubt   the   reliability   of    these    statements,   his    very 

^  Local  investigations  have  discovered  that  there  does  exist  in  the  street 
mentioned  the  grave  of  some  modern  Muhammadan  saint,  such  as  are  found  in 
thousands  all  over  the  Muhammadan  world. 


404  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

existence  is  proof  conclusive  enough.  God  has  sent  him  in  the 
fulness  of  time,  and  therefore  all  prophecy  must  find  its  fulfil- 
ment in  him.  And  one  has  only  to  compare  his  life  with  that 
of  Jesus  of  Nazareth  to  see  that  he  makes  far  greater  claims  to 
Messiahship  than  He.  "  I  wonder  what  people  find  so  remark- 
able in  the  Son  of  Mary  that  they  should  make  him  the  Son  of 
God.  Is  it  His  miracles?  Mine  are  greater  than  His.  Were 
His  prophecies  clear  and  true?  I  should  be  guilty  of  concealing 
the  truth  did  I  not  maintain  that  the  prophecies  given  to  me  by 
Almighty  God  far  surpass,  both  in  clearness,  in  power,  and  in 
truth,  the  ambiguous  predictions  of  Jesus.  Are  we  to  base  His 
Divinity  on  the  words  used  concerning  Him  in  the  Gospels?  I 
swear  by  the  Lord  that  the  revealed  words  of  God  attesting  my 
high  position  are  far  weightier  and  far  more  laudatory  than  the 
words  of  the  Gospels  relating  to  Jesus  "  {Review  of  Religions, 
May  1902,  p.  206).  What,  then,  are  the  miracles  of  Mirza  of 
Qadian  ?  He  can  scarcely  mean  anything  but  his  prophecies  ; 
here  his  favourite  method  has  been  to  threaten  all  whom  he 
dislikes  with  an  early  death,  and  he  has  conducted  himself  in 
this  respect  so  indecently  that  the  English  Government  finally 
compelled  him  to  sign  a  document  in  which  he  expressly 
promised  never  again  to  threaten  any  man  with  God's  wrath 
and  with  instant  dissolution  !  But  enough  of  these  astounding 
details,  which  we  could  go  on  repeating  ad  infinitum. 

At  first  sight  we  are  inclined  to  say  that  Ghulam  was  mad  and 
suffered  from  monomania,  but  Rev.  Dr.  Griswold,  a  Lahore 
missionary,  who  has  studied  both  the  man  and  his  writings  most 
thoroughly,  and  who  also  knows  him  personally,  believes  that 
he  was  most  honestly  convinced  of  the  truth  of  his  mission,  and 
that  he  was  likewise  able  to  produce  in  his  adherents  the  same 
conviction.  Besides,  it  must  be  remembered  that  he  is  merely 
a  sign  of  the  times  in  Muhammadanism,  within  which  alone  he 
has  attained  to  renown  and  made  disciples.  All  his  attempts 
to  convince  native  Christians,  or  even  Englishmen  resident  in 
India,  of  the  authenticity  of  his  mission  have  miserably  failed. 
Considered  as  a  product  of  North  Indian  Muhammadanism, 
this  Mirza  is  certainly  a  highly  remarkable  figure.  In  passing 
we  should  notice  that  the  Bible  and  the  Christian  faith  have 
already  gained  on  the  Muhammadans  to  such  an  extent  that 
they  resort  to  these  and  similar  eccentric  attempts  in  order  to 
hold  their  own.  We  ought  not  to  forget  that  Mirza  has 
throughout  shown  himself  possessed  by  the  most  embittered 
hatred  for  anything  Christian,  especially  for  Christian 
missionaries,  and  has  not  even  refrained  from  the  impudence 
of  slandering  in  most  despicable  fashion  Jesus,  in  whose  spirit 
and  power  he  pretends  to  have  come,  and  whose  exact  likeness 


THE  LEAVEN  AT  WORK  405 

(Masil-i-Masih,  shadow  of  the  Messiah)  he  originally  loved  to 
be  called.^ 

Orthodox  Muhammadanism  has  of  course  occupied  a  stand- 
point of  definite  opposition  to  Mirza  Ghulam  and  his  followers. 
His  teaching  transgresses  at  every  point  the  accepted  theology 
of  Islam.  According  to  the  new  Census  he  has  11 13  male 
followers  above  fifteen  years  of  age.  Dr.  Griswold  calculates 
the  entire  sect  at  ten  thousand  souls  at  the  very  outside,  assumes, 
however,  that  it  may  yet  increase  considerably.  Ghulam 
Ahmed's  recent  death  (1908)  may  prove  a  serious  set-back  to 
the  movement. 

There  are  also  other  movements  in  orthodox  Muhammadan- 
ism, all  of  which  are  opposed  to  Christianity,  and  seek  to 
fortify  themselves  against  its^attacks.  In  North  India  a  "  Society 
for  the  Defence  of  Islam  "  has  been  founded.  Simply  with  the 
object  of  interrupting  Christian  work  and  working  against  it,  it 
opens  elementary  and  intermediate  schools,  prints  newspapers 
and  pamphlets,  organises  preaching  tours,  pays  preachers,  and 
even  promotes  zenana  visiting. 

Wherever  we  look  in  India,  whether  at  Hinduism  or  at 
Islam,  we  find  unrest  and  fermentation.  The  leaven  of  the 
gospel  and  of  Christian  civilisation  is  at  work  in  the  stagnant 
mass ;  on  all  hands  there  is  a  stir  and  a  commotion  among  the 
dry  bones.  The  far-reaching  and  profound  effect  produced  by 
Christianity  upon  the  intellectual  life  of  India  is  one  of  the 
proofs  of  the  real  vitality  of  missions,  and  the  fact  that  all  these 
movements  have  been  set  in  motion  by,  and  have  developed 
partly  in  connection  with,  Protestant  missions  and  partly  in 
direct  opposition  thereto,  is  an  overwhelming  evidence  of  their 
superiority. 

'^  Indian  Evangelical  Review,  1903,  pp.  322-384. 


CHAPTER  VII 

THE  SUCCESS  OF  MISSIONS— THE  CHRISTIAN 
CHURCH  OF  INDIA 

I.  Numerical  Success 

To  tabulate  the  numerical  results  of  missions  is  difficult  on  all 
mission  fields,  but  particularly  so  in  India.  That  a  new  era 
has  here  dawned  in  almost  every  department  of  life,  in  the 
religious,  the  ethical,  the  political,  and  the  social  departments, 
in  philology,  in  literature,  in  education,  and  in  other  branches, 
no  one  can  entertain  the  least  doubt.  Still  less  would  any  one 
doubt  the  fact  that  in  the  renaissance  of  all  these  varying 
departments  missions  have  taken  a  distinguished  part,  that  in 
many  of  them  they  have  been  the  first  pioneers.  It  is  impos- 
sible to  write  a  detailed  history  of  India  in  the  nineteenth  century 
without  encountering  missionary  work  and  great  missionaries  at 
every  step.  But  the  department  to  which  in  this  book  we  first 
turn  and  where  we  most  earnestly  desire  to  ascertain  results  is 
that  of  religion.  For  the  great  revolutions  which  are  there  being 
prepared,  for  the  incisive  movements  which  have  there  come  and 
gone,  and  which  must  be  regarded  as  directly  or  indirectly  the 
result  of  missionary  work,  we  refer  the  reader  to  the  sixth 
chapter  of  this  book.  But  the  friends  of  missions  want  to  know 
more  than  this ;  they  demand  figures  showing  the  size  of  the 
native  church  and  the  number  of  baptized  converts  and  of 
catechumens.  In  India,  however,  any  such  standard  of  measure- 
ment is  particularly  inadequate,  and  in  certain  aspects  of  the 
work  it  is  almost  misleading.  In  the  higher  castes  and  upper 
strata  of  society  enormous  difficulties  block  the  way  of  any  one 
desiring  to  embrace  Christianity,  and  the  taking  of  this  decisive 
step  demands  both  heroic  courage  and  uncommon  energy 
— ^just  the  very  two  virtues  most  seldom  found  united  in 
the  Hindu.  It  will  therefore  be  understood  that  there  are 
many  in  these  particular  classes  of  society  who  shrink  from 
making  a  profession  of  faith,  who  postpone  it,  and  who  for  the 

present  rest  content  with  a  faith  which  may  be  very  real  to  its 

406 


THE  SUCCESS  OF  MISSIONS  407 

possessor  and  may  be  diligently  nourished  by  the  Word  of 
God.  The  descendants  of  Nicodemus,  or  "  Borderers  "  as  they 
are  called  in  India,  are  nowhere  so  numerous  as  on  the  Indian 
mission  field.  On  the  other  hand,  among  the  lowest  classes  of 
the  people  and  the  forest  tribes,  missions  come  as  a  means  of 
help  in  time  of  great  distress,  as  a  rescuer  from  hopeless  degen- 
eracy. They  take  nothing,  they  give  everything — schooling  to 
neglected  children,  food,  work,  the  means  of  existence,  and  a 
more  respectable  social  position  to  starving  parents.  For  them 
to  embrace  Christianity  is  easier  and  more  seductive  ;  Christian 
missions  have  had  to  stem  the  influx  in  order  that  undesirable 
elements  and  such  as  are  only  moved  by  material  considerations 
may  be  kept  out.  It  would  be  easy  but  unjust  to  compare  the 
numerical  results  in  either  case,  and  to  describe  the  work 
amongst  one  section  of  the  community  as  fruitless  and  devoid  of 
all  prospect  of  success,  and  that  amongst  the  other  section  as 
a  veritable  outpouring  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  as  a  new  Pentecost. 

But  we  have  no  other  standard  upon  which  to  proceed  than 
numerical  statistics,  and  in  our  materialistic  age  reliable  figures 
are  at  any  rate  of  considerable  relative  worth.  Such  figures  we 
have  given  at  the  close  of  each  division  in  our  historical  survey 
in  Chapter  III.;  but  we  must  now  examine  a  little  more  closely 
the  reliability  of  these  statistics.  For  this  purpose  we  shall 
limit  ourselves  to  the  last  twenty-five  years.  Here  we  find 
three  entirely  independent  calculations  at  our  disposal,  the 
Government  Census,  the  Decennial  Missionary  Tables,  and  Dr. 
Grundemann's  statistics.  Let  us  first  give  their  respective 
totals  for  India,  exclusive  of  Ceylon  and  Burma: — 


Government       Decennial 
Census.  Tables. 


Dr.  Grundemann. 


1881     ....  ...  417.872  304,303  (for  1878). 

1891    ....         573,753'  559,661  420,675  (for  1888). 

1901     ....         825,466  854,867  776,562  (for  1898). 

The  difference  in  these  figures  is  obviously  great.  Which 
column  may  we  accept  as  the  most  reliable?  At  first  sight  we 
are  tempted  to  prefer  the  Census  figures.  But  one  single 
example  will  suffice  to  show  what  mistakes  have  crept  into 
this  column  even  recently.  According  to  the  Census  of  1891 
there  were  2,158,240  "scholars"  and  675,357  "  literates "  under 
fifteen  years  of  age — a  sum  total  of  2,833,597.  According  to 
the  Census  of  1901  there  was,  notwithstanding  the  enormous 
educational    development   which  had    taken    place   during   the 

^  The  Census  Report  for  1890  (p.  179)  gives  584,307;  from  this  number  83,189 
evangelical  Christians  in  Burma  have  been  deducted,  and  72,635  in  Travancore  and 
Cochin  added. 


40 8  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

preceding  decade,  only  a  total  in  both  columns  of  2,129,439; 
that  is  to  say,  700,000  less,  whereas  we  ought  to  expect  as  many 
more.  This  is  clearly  a  Census  mistake  of  over  a  million,  and 
we  cannot  suppose  that  the  religious  Census  taken  mostly  by 
non-Christians  or  Muhammadans  will  be  more  reliable  than  this 
"  Education  Census."  We  shall  therefore  not  take  it  as  our 
authority,  but  merely  use  it  for  purposes  of  comparison.  Dr. 
Grundemann  is  a  missionary  specialist  in  statistics,  and  he 
bases  all  his  calculations  on  what  is  relatively  the  safest 
material  to  go  upon,  to  wit,  the  annual  reports  of  the  various 
Societies.  Our  objection  to  his  data,  however,  is  that  he  in- 
variably chooses  a  minimum  which  is  absolutely  beyond  all 
manner  of  doubt  instead  of  striking  a  probable  average,  and  he 
leaves  most  of  the  lesser  Societies  out  of  count  altogether.  His 
figures  are  therefore  everywhere  valuable,  but  their  sum  totals 
are  too  small.  The  Decennial  Missionary  Tables  are  prepared 
at  the  close  of  every  decade  for  the  Decennial  Conference  by  a 
local  committee  at  Calcutta,  and  are  based  on  schedules  sent 
round  to  all  the  Societies  at  work  in  India.  They  are  not 
faultless,  as  we  shall  see,  but  they  contain  what  is  relatively  the 
best  material  at  our  disposal.  We  have,  therefore,  in  all  figures 
given  previously,  regarded  them  as  reliable.^  Though  their 
sum-totals  also  are  not  so  trustworthy  as  we  could  wish,  yet 
they  are  essentially  indicative  of  the  progressive  development 
of  the  Indian  Missionary  Church.  According  to  the  Decennial 
Missionary  Tables  there  were  in  India  : — 


Protestant  Christians 
Communicants      among\ 

the  foregoing  / 

Churches  or  Congrega-) 

tions  / 

Ordained     Native) 

Christians  J 

Confining  ourselves  to  the  first  and,  for  us,  most  important 
set  of  figures,  we  see  that  during  the  period  1851-1861  the 
increase  was  54  per  cent.;  1861-1871,  54  per  cent.;  1871-1881, 
87  per  cent.;  1881-I890,  34  per  cent. ;  and  in  1890-1900,  53  per 
cent.  When  we  remember  that  during  the  decade  1871-1881 
there  was  an  extraordinarily  large  increase  in  consequence  of 
the  terrible  famine  of  1 876-1 879,  and  that  during  the  following 
decade,  1881-1891,  there  ensued,  on  the  contrary,  a  very 
necessary  season  of  sifting   and  winnowing,  that  in   the   two 

^  For  detailed  list  of  numbers  belonging  to  the  various  branches  of  the  Christian 
Church  in  India,  cf.  Appendix  N. 


I85I. 

1861. 

1871. 

1881. 

1890. 

1900. 

91,092 

138,731 

324,258 

417,572 

559,661 

854,867 

14,661 

24,976 

52,816 

113,325 

182,722 

301,699 

267 

971 

2,278 

3,650 

4,863 

5,362 

21 

97 

225 

461 

797 

893 

THE  SUCCESS  OF  MISSIONS  409 

decades  taken  together,  however,  the  whole  increase  of  about 
no  per  cent,  is  equivalent  to  twice  55  per  cent.,  we  find  that 
throughout  the  last  half- century  an  approximately  regular 
increase  of  54  per  cent,  per  decade  has  been  maintained. 


2.  The  Component  Elements  of  a  Protestant  Native 
Church 

Both  to  obtain  a  just  conception  of  these  masses  of 
Christians,  as  well  as  to  gain  some  insight  into  the  internal 
development  of  missions,  it  is  of  importance  to  analyse  the 
component  elements  of  the  Native  Churches.  Their  members 
are  in  the  main  drawn  from  five  different  strata  of  society. 
Away  back  in  the  first  thirty  years  of  the  nineteenth  century 
individual  Hindus  and  Muhammadans  had  joined  all  the  mis- 
sionary societies.  Though  we  cannot  go  so  far  as  to  say  there 
were  no  representatives  of  the  upper  classes  nor  even  of  the 
Brahmans  amongst  them,  yet  the  majority  were  certainly  drawn 
from  the  lower  and  the  lowest  strata  of  the  people.  Often 
enough  they  were  people  who  through  some  misdeed  or  inad- 
vertency had  lost  caste,  and  who  now  sought  a  refuge  amongst 
the  Christians.  Frequently  they  were  detached  units  of  the 
people,  such  as  servants,  hawkers,  travelling  mendicants,  and 
occasionally  sepoys,  who,  at  a  distance  from  home  and  people, 
were  more  easily  accessible  to  the  influences  of  the  foreign 
teaching.  Almost  invariably  they  had  previously  possessed 
either  no  assured  means  of  livelihood,  or  they  lost  it  on  becom- 
ing Christians.  The  missionaries,  who  regarded  these  first  fruits 
with  the  most  maternal  tenderness,  and  in  whose  eyes  the 
sacrifices  made  by  the  new  converts  loomed  infinitely  larger 
than  their  necessities,  supported  these  tiny  and  strangely 
assorted  groups  of  members  with  the  greatest  conscientiousness. 
They  (the  converts)  were  generally  allowed  to  encamp  in  the 
missionary  compounds  or  on  plots  of  ground  acquired  by  the 
missionaries  in  their  immediate  vicinity.  As  far  as  possible 
some  little  employment  was  provided  for  each  one  whereby  he 
might  gain  the  necessary  means  of  subsistence ;  his  children 
were  reared  more  or  less  at  the  expense  of  the  mission,  and  in 
times  of  distress  or  sickness  charity  was  dispensed  with  no 
reluctant  hand.  The  missionary  was  the  "  Ma-bap  "  or  "  mother- 
father  "  of  the  Christian  community,  and  this  latter  was  generally 
in  entire  financial,  social,  and  intellectual  dependence  upon  the 
mission.  The  "  barrack  system  "  is  the  name  ironically  applied 
to  these  patriarchal  times  by  Indian  Christians  themselves  at  a 
later  period. 


4IO  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

In  the  famine  of  1837  missionaries  first  gathered  together 
on  a  large  scale  children  who  had  been  made  orphans  by  the 
famine,  and  erected  orphanages  for  them,  a  number  of  which, 
such  as  those  at  Sigra  near  Benares  and  at  Sikandra  near  Agra, 
soon  acquired  considerable  fame.  It  lay  in  the  very  nature  of 
the  case  that  within  a  decade  of  the  famine,  at  the  very  outside, 
the  education  of  the  famine  orphans  was  accomplished. 

The  houses  were  then  filled  with  the  children  of  Christian 
parents  until  another  famine  brought  in  fresh  hosts  of  orphans. 
Particularly  in  North  India,  where  missionary  success  was 
nearly  always  very  sparse,  the  idea  often  presented  itself,  of 
developing  reliable  communities  of  native  Christians  from  these 
charges,  often  entrusted  to  missions  in  their  tenderest  years, 
and  thus  placing  before  the  eyes  of  the  heathen  an  object 
lesson  on  a  large  scale  of  the  Christian  life  as  embodied  in  an 
entire  community.  At  the  same  time  a  possibility  would  be 
opened  up  of  educating  for  missionary  service  a  thoroughly 
trained  staff  of  helpers.  During  the  last  sixty  years  of  the 
past  century  there  have  always  been  several  thousands  of 
children  in  mission  orphanages,  but  only  during  the  great 
famines  at  the  close  of  the  century,  1896-1897  and  1899-1900, 
were  orphanages  founded  in  large  numbers.  In  1901  Dennis 
reported  one  hundred  and  fifteen  orphanages  with  8960  boys  and 
girls  resident  therein.^  Two  years  later  it  was  calculated  that 
25,000  orphan  children  were  under  the  protection  of  evangelical 
missions.2  What  missions  have  done  for  these  masses  of  children, 
who  without  their  aid  must  surely  have  perished,  is  written  upon 
the  red-letter  pages  of  the  annals  of  Indian  missionary  history. 

The  task  missions  had  undertaken  in  connection  with  these 
children  was  a  more  difficult  and  complicated  one  than  had  at 
first  been  supposed.  Of  course  during  periods  of  famine 
Hinduism  endeavours  to  succour  its  own  adherents;  and  in 
general  it  is  only  the  children  of  the  poorest  and  most  degraded 
sections  of  the  community  who  fall  into  the  hands  of  the 
missionaries.  In  addition  to  the  fact  that  owing  to  centuries 
of  oppression  these  classes  are  generally  dull  and  obtuse,  most 
of  the  children  have  undergone  the  most  terrible  privations 
before  entering  the  orphanages,  by  which  they  have  suffered 
both  bodily  and  mentally,  and  often  spiritually  also.  They 
present  an  educational  task  as  difficult  as  it  is  thankless. 
The  children  are  generally  baptized  on  their  admittance ;  that 
certainly  guarantees  a  solid  Christian  training,  but  at  the  same 
time  it  makes  missions  responsible  for  them  during  the  rest  of 
their  lives,  for  thereby  they  definitely  are  cut  off  from  the  caste 
system.     They  must  remain  Christians,  or  they  are  socially  and 

^  Centennial  Survey ,  p.  216.  -Intelligencer,  1903,  p.  722;  1902,  p.  19. 


THE  SUCCESS  OF  MISSIONS  411 

morally  lost !  Is  it  to  be  marvelled  at  that  under  such  circum- 
stances a  large  percentage  of  these  orphan  children  became 
"  stones  of  offence  "  to  the  missionaries,  and  not  infrequently  a 
disgrace  to  the  missionary  cause?  The  missionaries  were  of 
course  obliged  to  assume  the  part  of  both  father  and  mother  to 
all  the  children  they  received,  and  also  to  conceirn  themselves 
with  the  maintenance  and  advancement  of  those  who  had  out- 
grown the  orphanages.  And  if,  as  we  well  know,  the  character 
of  the  Indian  people  is  one  tending  in  a  high  degree  to 
dependence,  parasitism,  and  subordination  to  a  stronger  will, 
how  were  these  hosts  of  children  to  be  taught  to  stand  on  their 
own  feet  independent  of  the  missionaries,  and  to  earn  their 
bread  with  the  sweat  of  their  brow,  especially  when  they  had 
in  missions  such  an  immeasurably  rich  "  Ma-bap."  As  far  as 
possible  they  were  brought  up  to  serve  as  helpers  in  church  and 
school,  and  it  is  largely  owing  to  these  orphanages  that  most 
North  Indian  missions  have  an  excellent  native  staff.  But  in 
view  of  the  extraction  of  the  children,  we  must  not  be  astonished 
when  we  find  that  only  a  small  percentage  possess  the  capacity 
for  such  advanced  training.  Attempts  were  made  to  interest 
them  in  agriculture,  as  most  of  them  came  from  rural  districts. 
Christian  agricultural  villages  were  founded ;  the  best  known 
of  these  are  Sikandra  near  Agra,  Basharatpur  and  Sterapur 
near  Gorakhpur,  and  Annfield  in  the  Dehra  Dun.^  But  this 
"  village  system,"  whereby  the  native  Christians  lived  on  mission 
land  and  in  financial  dependence  upon  missions,  was  far  from 

^  The  Christian  village  of  Sigra  near  Benares  was  built  within  the  missionary 
compound,  and  thus  resembled  the  "  barrack  "  system.  The  village  of  Muirabad 
outside  the  gates  of  Allahabad  was  a  noble  gift  from  Sir  William  Muir,  the  devoted 
ruler  of  the  United  Provinces,  and  was  principally  intended  for  Christians 
employed  in  the  offices  and  factories  of  the  adjoining  city.  The  inhabitants  of 
the  Christian  village  of  Sharanpur  near  Nasik  were  occupied  with  cart-making 
and  similar  labour.  In  quite  recent  times  the  idea  of  transplanting  poor 
Christians  into  agricultural  villages  has  been  taken  up  with  great  energy ;  the 
Irish  Presbyterians  in  Gujarat  and  Kathiawar,  the  Church  Missionary  Society  in 
the  Punjab,  at  Clarkabad,  JNIontgomerywala,  Isapur,  and  Batemanabad,  and  the 
United  Free  Church  of  Scotland  in  the  Chingleput  district  at  Andreiapuram  or, 
according  to  Rev.  A.  Andrews,  Melrosapuram,  carry  on  this  kind  of  work  on  a 
large  scale  ;  whilst  the  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel  around  Trichino- 
poly,  the  Leipzig  Missionary  Society  in  the  country  districts  of  Madras,  the 
Herrmannsburg  Society,  the  Breklum  Society,  and  others,  are  also  engaged  to  a 
certain  extent.  The  Madras  Conference  of  1902  warmly  recommended  this  branch 
of  labour  to  the  consideration  of  all  missionary  societies  {Report  of  the  Madras 
Decennial  Conference  of  igo2,  p.  146).  When  the  Government  places  large  and 
not  wholly  barren  tracts  of  land  at  the  disposal  of  such  an  enterprise,  as  has  been 
done  with  most  encouraging  promptitude  in  the  Punjab,  the  matter  is  of  course  quite 
practicable.  But  when  this  is  not  the  case,  the  heavy  cost  of  acquiring  land  and 
the  uncertainty  of  even  moderate  interest  being  yielded  on  the  capital  invested 
present  almost  insuperable  difficulties — as  the  Leipzig  Society  in  particular  has 
found  out  in  the  Madras  district.  The  religious  and  moral  advantages  of  this  system, 
and  its  dangers  too,  are  just  the  same  to-day  as  they  were  about  the  middle  of  the 
last  centuiy. 


412  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

being  conducive  to  the  development  of  independent  Christians 
possessed  of  Christian  backbone,  and  after  the  children  by 
their  Christian  education  in  the  orphanages  had  been  estranged 
from  the  surrounding  population,  they  became  in  these  Christian 
villages  wholly  self-contained  foreign  bodies,  devoid  of  all 
vital  attraction  for  the  heathen  by  whom  they  were  surrounded. 

Attempts  have  also  been  made  to  train  the  heathen  in 
handicrafts.  But  owing  to  the  rigid  caste  system  of  Hinduism, 
only  a  limited  number  of  crafts  are  available  for  those  not 
belonging  to  a  caste.  Regarding  Christians  as  outside  the  pale, 
the  heathen  simply  refuse  to  have  work  done  by  them.  There 
remain  therefore  only  two  practical  expedients.  Either  missions 
must  themselves  make  up  their  minds  to  instal  manual  and 
mechanical  trades  on  a  large  scale, — the  method  adopted  with 
great  skill  and  success  in  Malabar  and  Kanara  by  the  Basle 
Missionary  Society, — or  trades  and  occupations  must  be  chosen 
which  depend  on  the  ever  increasingly  numerous  English 
element  in  the  country,  posts  as  copyists  and  secretaries,  type- 
setting and  printing,  working  in  European  manufactories,  and 
so  on.  Down  to  the  Mutiny  in  1857  the  administration  of  North 
India  fought  shy  of  appointing  native  Christians  to  posts  on 
their  staff,  to  the  disadvantage  of  the  Christians  and  also  of  the 
Government,  Since  then  things  have  improved,  but  even  to-day 
native  Christians  have  a  difficulty  in  asserting  themselves  in 
the  European  service,  for  the  Hindus  and  Muhammadans 
generally  strain  every  nerve  to  keep  them  out. 

And  what  of  those  who  were  incompetent  both  for  the 
missionary  service  and  any  kind  of  handicraft?  They  were 
and  still  remain  the  missionaries'  greatest  care.  Frequently 
they  sought  to  earn  their  bread  by  entering  the  service  of 
Englishmen  or  other  Europeans,  but  in  a  position  of  such 
temptation,  often  the  only  Christians  amongst  a  numerous  and 
adverse  body  of  heathen  servants,  under  masters  who  were 
probably  anything  but  decided  Christians,  and  who  further 
shared  the  almost  universal  prejudice  against  them,  they  seldom 
stood  firm.  They  were  then  discharged  with  ignominy,  and  the 
Europeans  had  a  further  proof  that  "  Indian  Christians  are  no 
good,"  and  in  the  end  nothing  was  left  for  missionaries  to 
do  but  to  feed  these  their  unfortunate  children  themselves ! 
And  yet  the  work  of  self-sacrifice  and  devotion  among 
famine  orphans  has  been  on  the  whole  richly  rewarded. 
Such  children,  along  with  their  children  and  children's 
children,  form  the  nucleus  of  nearly  all  native  churches  in  the 
cities  of  Bengal  and  the  United  Provinces.  And  the  director 
of  one  of  the  largest  and  most  famous  orphanages,  that  of 
Sikandra  near   Agra,  assured   the    author   that,   after   careful 


THE  SUCCESS  OF  MISSIONS  413 

personal  investigation,  he  was  in  a  position  to  state  that  only 
very  few  of  the  families  of  former  members  of  his  own  institu- 
tion had  gone  astray,  whereas  the  majority  occupied  respectable 
positions  and  formed  a  section  of  society  continually  and 
creditably  increasing  in  intelligence  and  moral  force,  especially 
in  the  second  and  third  generations. 

In  view  of  the  immoderately  large  number  of  famine  orphans 
now  in  mission  orphanages,  the  question  of  their  education 
until  they  are  able  to  obtain  an  independent  livelihood  occupies 
more  than  ever  the  minds  of  the  missionaries.  They  are  all 
united  in  the  opinion  that  under  prevailing  conditions  industrial 
occupations  are  the  most  desirable ;  "  industrial  missions," 
therefore,  are  the  order  of  the  day.  Energetic  Scotchmen  have 
founded  a  "Scottish  Missionary  Industrial  Company"  which 
has  e.g.  taken  over  and  developed  the  missionary  printing 
presses  in  Ajmer  and  Poona  belonging  to  the  United  Free 
Church  of  Scotland.  A  second  "  Industrial  Missionary  Aid 
Society"  (founded  in  1897)  maintains  a  capitally  equipped 
carpet-weaving  establishment  at  Ahmadnagar,  principally  on 
behalf  of  the  orphans  who  are  under  the  care  of  the  American 
Board ;  its  main  objects  are,  however:  (i)  To  be  an  information 
bureau,  able  to  assist  all  missionaries  in  the  choice  of  suitable 
branches  of  industry,  the  procuring  of  all  necessary  instruments, 
etc. ;  (2)  to  be  an  agency  for  the  sale  of  all  articles  produced  in 
these  workshops.  For  the  last-named  purpose  it  has  opened 
various  shops  and  depots  in  Bombay  and  London.  Its  founder 
and  director  is  Mr.  H.  W.  Fry  of  London,  But  far  beyond  the 
sphere  of  influence  of  this  Missionary  Aid  Society,  which  after 
all  does  not  represent  any  very  large  amount  of  capital, 
industrial  workshops  and  schools  are  being  built  in  connection 
with  nearly  every  mission,  from  the  Himalayas  in  the  far  north 
to  the  most  southern  point  of  the  island  of  Ceylon.  They 
compose,  along  with  schools,  zenana  work,  and  medical  missions, 
an  essential  part  of  modern  missionary  organisation.  In 
distinction  to  the  other  branches  of  missionary  labour,  however, 
they  are  almost  exclusively  intended  for  the  education  and 
uplifting  of  the  younger  members  of  the  Christian  community. 
For  this  reason  we  have  considered  them  not  in  the  fifth,  but  in 
the  seventh  chapter  of  this  work. 

Whereas  in  the  first  thirty  years  of  the  nineteenth  century 
members  of  the  highest  castes  were  met  with  amongst  the  con- 
verts only  at  rare  intervals,  considerable  numbers  of  Brahmans 
and  other  members  of  the  religious  and  intellectual  aristocracy 
of  the  country  were  converted  to  Christianity  after  1830,  under 
the  magnetic  influence  of  Dr.  Duff,  and  soon  afterwards  also  in 
connection  with   the   mission    colleges   everywhere  founded  in 


414  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

accordance  with  his  advice  and  example.  Forty-eight  such 
conversions  resulted  from  Duff's  direct  influence.  The 
Banerjeas  and  the  Chatterjeas,  the  Mukerjeas  and  the 
Dutts,  the  Ghoses  and  the  Chakarbuttys  and  others  formed 
an  entirely  new  element  in  Indian  Christendom.  This  class  of 
convert  has  never,  thank  God,  died  out ;  and  conversions  from 
the  intellectual  aristocracy  of  Muhammadanism  have  also  taken 
place.  The  well-known  Imad-ud-Din,  who  died  in  1903, 
mentioned  in  a  paper  sent  to  the  Chicago  Parliament  of 
Religions  in  1893  the  names  of  some  ninety  distinguished 
Muhammadans  who  had  been  converted  to  Christianity.  This 
aristocracy  of  brain  and  of  heart,  who  have  almost  all  given  up 
family  and  property,  position  and  prospects,  for  the  sake  of 
Christ,  are  the  veritable  pillars  of  Indian  Christendom.  Never- 
theless we  cannot  but  recognise  that  their  adhesion  to  missions, 
particularly  in  the  early  decades  of  the  century,  was  a  distinct 
source  of  difficulty.  That  far-reaching  dependence  upon  missions 
in  which  the  native  churches  found  themselves  under  the 
"  barrack  "  and  "  village "  systems,  was,  naturally  enough,  not 
altogether  pleasing  to  these  great  free  spirits  ;  they  were  rather 
disposed  to  interfere  on  behalf  of  these  "  downtrodden  "  ones, 
and  to  reproach  missions  with  keeping  the  native  Christians  in 
leading  strings  and  neglecting  their  education  in  manly 
independence.  They  were  the  natural  leaders  and  pastors  of 
the  native  churches ;  yet  they  were  the  very  ones  to  introduce 
endless  complications  into  the  vexed  question — already  difficult 
enough — of  the  regular  pastoral  oversight  of  these  congrega- 
tions, by  demanding  (and  their  demand  was  just),  on  account 
of  their  past  history  and  position,  salaries  that  the  poverty- 
stricken  native  churches  were  quite  unable  to  pay.  They  were 
the  most  valuable  allies  of  the  missionaries  from  over-seas  in 
the  intellectual  warfare  against  Hinduism  and  Islam,  and  many 
of  them  accomplished  great  things  in  research  into  these 
systems  of  religion  as  well  as  in  actual  conflict  with  them ;  we 
need  only  recall  the  names  of  Nehemiah  Goreh,  Imad-ud-Din, 
and  Thakurdas.  But  for  this  very  reason  it  was  most  difficult 
to  define  to  their  general  satisfaction  their  spiritual  and  temporal 
relationship  both  to  the  missionaries  and  to  the  native  churches. 
Such  difficulties,  however,  even  when  they  led  to  passing  mis- 
understandings and  heated  controversy  at  the  great  Mission 
Conferences,  only  presented  themselves  to  be  overcome.  With 
this  contingent  from  the  intellectual  aristocracy  of  the  country, 
missions  publicly  made  good  their  claim  upon  every  class  of 
society  in  the  country,  and  showed  how  the  most  brilliantly 
gifted  minds  of  India  might  be  of  use  in  the  service  of  the 
Master  and  in  the  building  up  of  His  kingdom. 


THE  SUCCESS  OF  MISSIONS  415 

In  the  fourth  missionary  period,  1857-1880,  a  new  factor 
pressed  into  the  foreground  of  the  missionary  situation,  and  for 
a  quarter  of  a  century  attracted  universal  attention,  namely,  the 
hill  and  forest  tribes,  the  aborigines  of  India.  Since  the 
famous  days  of  the  Tinnevelly  Mission  (i 820-1 845)  no  such 
numerous  and  promising  conversions  had  been  seen  as  now 
occurred  amongst  the  Kols  and  the  Santals.  And  what  was 
particularly  cheering  was  the  fact  that  the  task  here  presented 
to  the  missionaries  corresponded  exactly  with  the  ideal  of 
missionary  work  which,  based  upon  experience  in  Africa  and 
Polynesia,  had  been  formed  in  the  homeland.  Simple  agricul- 
tural and  hunting  tribes  knocked  at  the  door  of  the  Christian 
Church  and  besought  admission ;  congregations,  churches, 
schools,  a  staff  of  teachers  and  preachers,  all  could  be  inaugur- 
ated in  the  greatest  simplicity,  from  the  very  bottom  rung  of 
the  ladder  to  the  top  ;  the  powers  and  abilities  already  existent 
in  the  newly  received  converts  could  at  once  be  brought  into 
play.  All  the  clumsy  apparatus  of  Indian  missionary  organisa- 
tion— educational,  medical,  zenana,  industrial  missions,  etc. — 
could  be  dispensed  with.  And  it  was  precisely  in  this  limitation 
to  forces  that  lay  ready  to  their  hand  that  the  highest  genius 
was  manifested.  It  is  noteworthy  that,  as  a  general  rule. 
Englishmen  and  Americans  have  had  no  great  measure  of 
success  in  carrying  on  missions  to  aboriginal  tribes  (to  see  this 
we  have  only  to  compare  the  work  of  the  S.P.G.  in  Chota 
Nagpur  with  that  of  Gossner's  Mission,  or  the  C.M.S.  with  the 
"  Indian  Home  Mission  "  among  the  Santals) ;  they  bring  to  bear 
upon  the  simpler  conditions  of  work  the  unwieldy  institutional 
apparatus  in  use  in  other  parts  of  the  country,  and  therewith 
they  greatly  increase  the  difficulty  of  their  task.  It  is  a 
question  still  needing  solution  as  to  how  far  it  is  necessary 
to  labour  for  the  social  and  economic  uplifting  of  these  abori- 
gines, after  bringing  them  the  benefits  of  Christianity.  The 
two  most  active  missions  in  this  field,  Gossner's  Mission  to  the 
Kols  and  the  Scandinavian  Santal  Mission,  are  inclined  to  keep 
their  adherents  simply  in  the  position  they  have  inherited  from 
their  fathers,  and  thus  to  enable  them  to  earn  their  daily  bread  ; 
they  take  special  care  that  all  further  education  and  instruc- 
tion given  to  their  teachers  and  preachers  shall  not  unfit  them 
for  that  station  in  life  in  which  they  have  previously  been 
brought  up. 

We  have  already  pointed  out  in  our  historical  survey  that 
the  main  body  of  the  Indian  Christians  converted  in  more 
recent  times  is  either  from  the  lower  strata  of  the  lowest  Sudra 
castes  or  from  among  the  outcastes.  Although  to  an  unskilled 
European  eye  the  distinction  between  these  two  divisions  may 


4i6  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

seem  of  little  worth,  it  is  yet  of  considerable  importance  for  a 
right  apprehension  of  Indian  conditions  of  work.  To  the  lowest 
Sudra  castes  belong  the  Shanans  of  Tinnevelly  and  Travancore, 
the  Malas  of  Central  and  North  Telugu  Land,  the  Tiyans  and 
Billawas  of  Malabar  and  South  Kanara,  and  the  Mazhabi 
Sikhs  in  the  Punjab;  amongst  the  outcastes  we  find  the  Pariahs 
of  the  Central  and  North  Tamil  districts,  the  Madigas  of  the 
Telugu  district,  the  Mahars  and  Mangs  of  the  Maratha  country, 
the  Chamars,  Mehtars,  and  Churahs  of  North  India,  etc.  It 
is  one  of  the  most  attractive  tasks  of  the  missionary  historian 
to  investigate  how,  now  here  now  there,  one  of  these  groups  is 
laid  hold  of  and  gripped  by  Christian  missions,  how  to  a  greater 
or  lesser  degree  mass  movements  follow,  and  how  these 
movements  come  to  a  standstill  almost  as  suddenly  as  they 
begin.  Here,  however,  our  only  duty  is  to  inquire  into  the 
nature  of  the  task  presented  by  work  amongst  these  inferior 
castes,  particularly  in  the  case  of  mass  movements.  There  was 
a  time — in  the  early  days  of  the  Shanan  Mission  in  Tinnevelly 
for  instance,  or  during  the  revival  amongst  vast  masses  of  the 
Madigas  and  Malas  after  the  great  famine  of  1 876-1 879 — when 
one  was  inclined,  particularly  in  enthusiastic  missionary  circles 
at  home,  to  regard  these  movements  as  occasions  for  triumph 
at  new  outpourings  of  the  Holy  Ghost ;  but  out  on  the  mission- 
field  itself  a  more  sober  spirit,  a  spirit  better  able  to  appreciate 
the  actual  condition  of  things,  is  now  almost  universally  pre- 
valent. These  masses  of  people  have  been  mainly  attracted 
to  the  missionaries  for  social  or  mundane  reasons.  After 
centuries  of  merciless  oppression  by  the  upper  castes,  who 
regard  all  education  and  civilisation  as  their  own  particular 
privilege  and  keep  the  lower  castes  in  total  ignorance  or  in  a 
barren  gloomy  demon  worship,  these  lower  castes  are  beginning 
to  perceive  that  a  new  day  is  breaking  for  them,  and  that 
missions  are  benevolently  stretching  out  a  hand  to  lead  them 
into  a  state  of  existence  worthy  of  rational  creatures.  If  the 
great  motto  of  missions  be,  "  The  poor  have  the  Gospel  preached 
unto  them,"  the  salvation  of  the  offscourings  of  Indian  society 
is  a  task  worthy  of  the  humble  followers  of  a  self-denying 
Master.  Certainly  it  is  a  task  beset  with  thorns ;  in  far  the 
greater  number  of  cases  it  is  impossible  to  make  good  citizens 
of  these  Pariah  Christians.  Even  when  they  have  been  baptized 
so  much  of  the  physical  and  moral  filth  of  their  sombre  past 
generally  adheres  to  them  that  critics  have  an  easy  task  in 
emptying  the  vials  of  their  scorn  upon  these  Pariah  missions  and 
their  "  rice  Christians."  Missionaries,  too,  know  well  what 
dangers  these  mass  movements  hold  in  store  for  them. 
Although  the   motives   of  the   converts   are   principally   of  a 


THE  SUCCESS  OF  MISSIONS  417 

social  kind,  it  is  only  possible  for  missions  to  afford  them  a 
limited  measure  of  assistance.  If  the  help  they  expect  be  not 
rendered,  they  are  soon  dissatisfied  and  turn  away ;  what  help 
they  do  actually  receive,  they  consider  as  the  natural  reward 
for  their  profession  of  Christianity,  and  proffer  no  thanks  what- 
ever for  it.  Should  such  aid  ameliorate  their  social  position, 
they  soon  become  impertinent  and  supercilious  towards  the 
castes  that  were  formerly  above  them.  Mass  movements  also 
render  increasingly  difficult  the  unremitting  task  of  carefully 
instructing  the  individual  ;  the  women  are  perhaps  overlooked, 
special  spiritual  oversight  is  neglected,  and  much  of  the  leaven 
of  heathenism,  both  with  regard  to  ideas  and  to  manners,  is 
allowed  to  enter  the  Church.^  It  is  a  fruitful  subject  for  dis- 
cussion in  missionary  circles,  whether  it  is  wise  to  proletariatise 
Indian  Christendom  too  greatly  by  too  large  an  influx  of  Pariah 
congregations,  and  thereby  to  render  Christianity  wholly  de- 
spicable and  unacceptable  to  the  higher  classes  as  the  religion 
of  the  Pariah.  On  the  other  hand,  owing  to  the  well-known  lack 
of  will-power  in  the  Hindu,  it  is  much  easier  for  him  to  become 
a  Christian  in  company  with  many  others  than  if  he  had  to 
take  the  weighty  step  alone :  great  numerical  results  are  only 
possible  in  mass  movements. 

Missionaries  cannot  and  ought  not  to  leave  the  masses  who 
have  joined  them  in  the  dull  depression  and  intellectual  sterility 
of  their  earlier  heathen  condition.  What  are  they  then  to  re- 
quire of  these  people,  unused  to  every  kind  of  mental  activity, 
who  have  never  had  a  school  training,  before  they  permit  them 
to  be  baptized  ?  To  how  great  an  extent  and  in  what  particular 
ways  may  or  ought  missions  to  work  for  the  social  uplifting  of 
these  masses  ?  When  these  questions  first  presented  themselves 
in  the  Tinnevelly  Mission  and  in  the  religious  movement  in  the 
Krishnagar  district  of  Bengal,  missionaries  thought  the  simplest 
and  most  effective  solution  of  the  problem  was  to  erect 
elementary  and  secondary  schools,  to  pass  through  them, 
largely  at  the  cost  of  the  mission,  as  many  boys  and  girls  as 
possible  who  appeared  to  possess  any  degree  of  ability,  and 
then  to  employ  these  scholars  either  in  the  service  of  the 
mission  or  in  specially  created  and  lucrative  posts  in  the  lower 
branches  of  the  civil  service.  But  after  half  a  century's  experi- 
ence one  is  inclined  to  doubt  whether  after  all  it  is  a  good 
thing  to  elevate  so  many  belonging  to  one  particular  social 
grade  above  that  grade.  With  the  large  funds  generously 
placed  at  its  disposal  by  the  allied  Industrial  Missionary  Aid 
Society,  the  Basle  Missionary  Society  first  took  the  step  of 
creating  employment  on  a  large  scale  for  its  catechumens  and 

"^  Report  of  Bombay  Decennial  Missionary  Conference  for  iSgs,  p.  567. 
27 


41 8  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

native  Christians  by  opening  factories.  In  various  parts  of  the 
country  an  attempt  has  also  been  made  to  provide  employment 
that  shall  be  in  harmony  with  Indian  customs  by  training  the 
native  Christians  as  small  farmers  on  their  own  allotments  (cf, 
p.  411,  note).  But  for  this  large  monetary  funds,  very  com- 
petent and  reliable  overseers,  and  patient  skill  in  adapting  one- 
self to  the  truly  novel  conditions  of  Indian  agricultural  life,  are 
needed.  The  experiments  that  have  been  made  in  this  direc- 
tion up  to  the  present  are  not,  on  the  whole,  encouraging. 
Nowadays  the  question  is  being  diligently  considered,  both  in 
North  and  South  India,  as  to  whether  some  industries  or  handi- 
crafts cannot  be  discovered  which,  while  not  demanding  too 
large  an  outlay  of  capital  and  of  unwieldy  plant,  may  prove  the 
foundation  on  which  to  base  a  self-supporting  and  independent 
order  of  society  consisting  entirely  of  Christian  handicraftsmen. 
We  ought  not  to  fail  to  understand,  however,  that  owing  to  the 
superiority  of  our  education  to  that  of  the  heathen  world,  missions 
are  in  danger,  to  use  the  words  of  Rufus  Anderson,  that 
enlightened  American  Missionary  Secretary,  "  of  losing  sight  of 
the  spiritual  aims  which  are  their  sole  raison  d'etre  by  the  inter- 
mixture of  too  many  views  and  methods  of  Western  civilisation, 
of  too  much  agricultural  and  textile  training,"  etc. 

Still,  if  it  is  the  indubitable  paternal  duty  of  missions  to 
render  possible  by  domestic  equipment  and  preparation  of  this 
kind  an  independent  existence  for  thousands  of  famine  orphans, 
missions  have  also  a  similar  responsibility  towards  the  otherwise 
mercilessly  downtrodden  outcastes  who  have  come  under  their 
protection  through  baptism.  But  the  spiritual  character  of  their 
work,  which  is  their  sole  source  of  strength,  should  never  be 
lost  sight  of,  and  they  ought  ever  to  remember  that  all  this 
kind  of  effort  for  the  raising  of  the  social  standing  of  the 
people  is  for  them  only  the  means  to  an  end,  and  not  the  end 
itself. 

We  shall  not  attempt  to  pass  judgment  on  the  native 
churches  of  India  either  from  the  point  of  view  of  the  com- 
plaints and  reproaches  cast  up  against  them  by  critics  and 
opponents,  or  yet  from  that  of  the  rightful  estimate  that  should 
be  taken  of  their  religious  and  moral  qualifications.  The 
criticisms  of  opponents  are  the  missionaries'  crown  of  thorns. 
They  know  full  well  how  many  are  the  weak  points  in  their 
work;  they  also  know  that  just  those  native  Christians  with 
whom  civil  servants  and  globe-trotters  come  most  into  contact 
— the  servants  in  European  houses,  the  obtrusive  Pariah  parvenus 
in  the  large  towns — may  as  often  as  not  be  described  as  the 
bastards,  the  prodigal  sons,  of  missions.  On  the  other  hand, 
the   conditions    under   which    the    various    groups    of    native 


THE  SUCCESS  OF  MISSIONS  419 

Christians  live  are  so  diverse  that  a  just  verdict  can  only  be 
passed  upon  them  by  carefully  considering  the  pit  from  whence 
they  were  digged,  as  well  as  the  environment  in  which  they 
at  present  find  themselves.  We  may  perhaps  be  permitted  to 
refer  briefly  to  three  points  where  missions,  in  spite  of  many 
isolated  blunders,  have  attained  brilliant  results  in  the  attempts 
on  a  large  scale  which  they  have  made  for  the  uplifting  of  the 
people. 

Scarcely  any  mission  has  been  so  keenly  criticised  by  both 
friend  and  foe  alike  as  the  work  of  the  Church  Missionary 
Society  in  the  Krishnagar  district.  And  in  spite  of  all,  the  fact 
remains  that  the  present,  the  third  generation  of  Christians,  has 
developed  to  such  an  extent  in  intelligence  and  general  ability 
under  the  conscientious  care  of  the  missionaries  that  the  re- 
stricted conditions  of  life  which  satisfied  their  ancestors  no 
longer  satisfy  them,  and  a  very  considerable  emigration  to 
Calcutta  and  neighbourhood  is  constantly  taking  place.  I  was 
told  in  Krishnagar  that  half  of  all  the  Protestant  Christians  in 
the  native  churches  of  Calcutta  were  immigrants  from  Krish- 
nagar, who  are  earning  a  comfortable  livelihood.  At  Muirabad, 
the  prosperous  Christian  village  near  Allahabad,  I  expressed 
astonishment  at  the  evident  tokens  of  the  easy  circumstances  of 
its  inhabitants,  and  I  was  told  that  the  second  and  third  genera- 
tions of  those  Christians  who  had  been  brought  up  in  mission 
orphanages  almost  invariably  occupied  respectable  and  lucrative 
positions  in  life ;  also  that  the  bloodthirsty  outbreak  of  the 
quarrelsome  Maravas  against  the  Shanans  in  Tinnevelly  and 
Madura  in  the  summer  of  1899  had  its  real  source  in  the 
prosperity  and  growing  intelligence  of  the  Shanans,  who  under 
the  superintendence  of  the  missionaries  had  made  such  immense 
progress  both  intellectually  and  economically.  It  is  an  en- 
couraging sign  that  native  Christians  are  themselves  beginning 
by  mutual  insurance  to  protect  themselves  against  poverty  or 
sudden  disaster.  In  the  C.M.S.  congregations  at  Madras 
there  has  existed  since  1884  a  "Madras  Native  Christian 
Provident  Fund,"  with  a  capital  of  some  34,000  rupees,  the  653 
members  of  which  assure  by  regular  payments  an  annuity  for 
themselves  or  those  dependent  upon  them,  or  a  sum  payable  at 
death ;  during  the  last  twenty-one  years  over  ^^4660  has  been 
paid  out  of  this  fund  to  the  widows  and  orphans  of  Christians. 
At  Calcutta  there  is  a  Mutual  Assurance  Society  for  Christians 
with  a  considerably  larger  capital,  connected  with  the  Bhowani- 
pur  Mission  of  the  London  Missionary  Society. 


420  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 


3.  Native  Agents 

That  foreign  missionaries  would  have  to  train  up  and  appoint 
a  staff  of  native  teachers  as  auxiliaries  was  patent  even  to  the 
veterans  of  the  Danish  Mission,  and  they  made  several  valuable 
essays  in  this  direction.  They  had  at  that  time  no  training 
college.  Missionaries  trained  their  Q.gQ.nts  privatim.  Christian 
Fried  rich  Schwartz  in  particular  showed  both  wisdom  and  great 
skill  in  work  of  this  kind.  Few,  however,  were  allowed  to 
proceed  as  far  as  ordination,  and  none  but  Sudras  in  any  case. 
With  the  extension  of  missionary  enterprise  since  the  beginning 
of  the  nineteenth  century,  the  need  for  numerous  native  agents 
has  become  more  imperative.  On  this  matter,  however,  there 
have  been  entertained  the  most  varied  opinions  and  the  most 
conflicting  views.  In  the  early  decades  we  find  the  tendency 
to  employ  as  many  converts  as  possible  in  missionary  service ; 
on  the  one  hand,  because  the  progress  of  missionary  activity 
demanded  an  ever  greater  number  of  native  helpers  acquainted 
with  the  languages  and  customs  of  the  country,  and  on  the 
other,  because  those  who  owing  to  their  conversion  had  been 
thrown  out  of  their  previous  situations  thus  had  created  for  them 
a  new  position  which  was  both  highly  suitable  and  at  the  same 
time  conducive  to  their  intellectual  development.  Great  pains 
were  taken  with  their  training,  and  several  schools  for  catechists 
were  established.  In  some  of  these  a  comprehensive  syllabus 
was  drawn  up,  Greek  and  Hebrew  being  taught  as  the  original 
languages  of  the  Bible,  and  the  language  generally  chosen  for 
the  conveyance  of  instruction  was  English.  But  ordination  and 
the  comparatively  independent  position  gained  thereby  was 
granted  only  with  the  greatest  reluctance.  In  185 1,  over 
against  493  catechists  and  preachers,  there  were  under  all  the 
societies  at  work  in  India  only  twenty-one  ordained  native 
pastors  !  Towards  the  middle  of  the  century,  first  in  unattached 
missions,  then  gradually  throughout  the  whole  mission  field,  the 
view  became  prevalent  that  Indian  Christendom  ought  to 
provide  adequately  for  its  own  pastoral  oversight,  and  that  this 
ought  to  be  so  arranged  as  that  the  support  of  the  preachers 
should  impose  no  intolerable  burden  upon  the  native  churches. 
Wherever  this  view  prevailed  the  demands  made  of  catechists 
with  regard  to  education  were  modified  :  Greek  and  Latin  as  well 
as  a  number  of  dogmatic  subjects  were  thrown  overboard, 
instruction  was  given  in  the  vernacular,  and  an  attempt  was 
made  to  preserve  the  catechists'  sense  of  nationality  as  far  as 
possible  intact.  Men  trained  on  these  lines  were  now  ordained 
in  large  numbers,  so  that  the  native  churches  might  be  sufficiently 


THE  SUCCESS  OF  MISSIOxNS  421 

provided  with  pastors.     But  the  missionaries'  need  for  thoroughly 
trained  assistants  in  their  direct  missionary  work  told  heavily 
against  this  more  simple  method.     The  man  who  attempted  a 
discussion  with  either  a  Hindu  or  a  Muhammadan  at  a  mela  or 
in  the  bazaar  was  as  good  as  done  for  if  his  intellectual  equip- 
ment were  not  equal  or  superior  to  that  of  his  adversary ;  and 
such  an  equipment  means  not  only  a  thorough  knowledge  of 
the    Scriptures    but   also   an    intimate   acquaintance   with    the 
sacred  literatures  of  his  opponents,  where  possible  in  the  original 
languages,  and  sufficient    theological  and    dialectic  training  to 
measure  his  lance  against  their  systems  of  religion.     Further,  it 
lay  in  the  very  nature  of  things  that  converts  from  high  castes 
who  had  only  found  the  Pearl  of  Great  Price  after  long  and  sore 
conflict  should  themselves  burn  with  desire  to  commend    this 
great  treasure  to  their  fellow-countrymen  ;   and  that  as  educated 
men  they  not  only  possessed  the  ability  to  profit  by,  but  like- 
wise might   equitably  claim  a   thorough   theological    training. 
And  the  churches  in  the  large  towns,  the  members  of  which 
were  ever  increasing  in  intelligence  and  culture,  needed  pastors 
of  sound    and   comprehensive   education    to   enable   them    in- 
tellectually  to   vindicate   their   position    in    the   midst   of   the 
heathendom  which  surged  around  them  on  every  side.     On  the 
other  hand,  it  was  a  serious  matter  to  give  too  highly  scientific  a 
training  to  native  agents.     "  Too  far  uplifted  above  the  average 
intellectual  plane  of  their  fellow-countrymen,  they  began  to  lust 
after    more   cultured    hearers    than   were    to    be    found    in    the 
villages,  and  after  higher  salaries  than  could  there  be  obtained. 
They  were  unwilling  to  be  stationed  as  agents  in  obscure  places, 
amongst  an  ignorant  people  of  low  caste,  and  only  too  often 
they  would   not  suffer  the  missionary  veterans  to  address  to 
them  either  counsel  or  remonstrance.     In  some  places,  too,  they 
fell  before   the   temptation  to   engage  in  worldly  occupations, 
and    in    this   way   became   wholly   lost   to   the    mission."     So 
writes    Rufus    Anderson.     There    were    thus,   as   a    matter   of 
fact,  many  widely  divergent  views  and  motives  regarding  the 
development  of  the  native  pastorate,  and  we  need  not  be  sur- 
prised to    find  that  this  development  has  assumed   the  most 
varying  forms  in  different  parts  of  the  mission  field. 

We  will  trace  the  development  in  one  typical  mission,  that 
of  the  Church  Missionary  Society  in  the  Madras  Presidency ; 
it  is  specially  instructive  as  regards  the  variations  that  have 
occurred  in  this  particular  branch  of  work.  The  Church 
Missionary  Society  entered  this  sphere  by  taking  over  the  work 
of  the  Danish  Mission  at  Tinnevelly.  The  leaders  of  that 
mission,  and  in  particular  Schwartz,  as  we  have  already 
mentioned,   had    trained    their    assistants   privatim,   and    had 


42  2  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

ordained  the  best  among  them.     With  these  helpers  they  had 
obtained  on  the  whole  satisfactory  results ;  they  were  men  of 
great  spiritual  acumen,  men  of  zeal,  circumspection,  and  spiritual 
energy.     Something  of  the  spirit  of   the  Danish  veterans  had 
entered  into  them.     But  there  were  only  a  few  of  them,  and  it 
needed  the  personality  of  a  missionary  wholly  devoted  to  his 
calling    to  exercise  an  influence  of  this  kind  upon  the    native 
assistants.     When    under    Rhenius'    energetic   and    competent 
direction    the    mass    movement    towards    Christianity    spread 
through  hundreds  of  Shanan  villages,  a  need  was  immediately 
felt  for  large  numbers  of  native  helpers,  so  that  a  pastor  might 
be  appointed   to   take  charge  of  the  churches   and   schools   if 
possible   in  every  village,  but  at  any  rate    in    every  group    of 
villages.     This    was    only    possible    with    the    aid    of    training 
colleges ;    at    Palamcottah,    therefore,    Rhenius,    aided   by   his 
colleague   B.  Schmid,   opened    a    seminary   for   catechists,  and 
tenaciously  maintained  it  in  spite  of  all  opposition  presented 
by  the  caste  spirit  among  a  number  of  students  living  together 
in  this    manner.     From  this  training  college   the  high   school 
system  of  Palamcottah  was  gradually  developed,  a  high  school, 
a   boarding   school,  and  separate  training  colleges  for  school 
teachers  and  for  catechists  ;  the  intention  was,  on  the  one  hand, 
to  provide  the  teachers  of  the  future  with  the  rudiments  of  a 
good  solid  education ;  on  the  other,   to  give  them   direct  pre- 
paration for   their   work    in   school   and    in    the    pulpit.     Only 
the   most   approved   among   the    catechists  were  admitted    to 
ordination,  and  this   was    done  reluctantly ;  down  to  the  year 
1849  but  seven  natives  had  been  ordained   on  the  entire  field 
of  the  Church  Missionary  Society  in  India.     When  other  fields 
of  work  at  Madras,  Travancore,  and  in  Telugu  Land  were  taken 
over  in  the  Madras  Presidency  by  the  same  Society,  it  was  an 
easy  matter  to   institute  a  uniform  system   of  preparation  for 
candidates  for  ordination.     To  this  end  a  Theological  Seminary 
was  built  at  Madras  in  1838,  under  the  superintendence  of  Rev. 
Jos.  H.  Gray.     Through  this  college  all  desirous  of  ordination 
had  to  pass  ;  only  the  lower  grades  of  elementary  school  teachers 
and  village  catechists  were  to  be  trained  on  the  various  mission 
stations.     This   centralisation  was   made   all   the  easier  by  the 
fact  that  since  1835   Madras  had  been  the  seat  of  a  bishopric, 
and  that  according  to  Anglican  ideas  any  examination  confer- 
ring a  right  to  ordination  must  be  conducted  by  a  bishop,  who 
alone  may  determine  the  subjects  of  examination.     Thus  it  was 
both  simple  and  convenient  to  carry  on  this  seminary  under  the 
immediate  supervision  of  the   bishop.     At  a  centre  of  city  life 
the  course  was  naturally  a  high  one  ;  English  was  the  medium 
of  instruction,  and  theological  subjects  were  treated  almost  as 


THE  SUCCESS  OF  MISSIONS  423 

thoroughly  as  at  theological  colleges  in  the  homeland.  The 
want  of  European  missionaries  from  which  the  Society  at  that 
time  suffered  also  contributed  to  force  on  rapidly  the  task  of 
ordaining  native  agents.  Down  to  the  year  1S72,  eighty-three 
natives  had  been  ordained  in  the  Indian  field  of  the  Church 
Missionary  Society,  the  majority  of  these  belonging  to  South 
India.  There  were  at  that  time  only  225  ordained  native 
agents  in  the  whole  country.  However,  the  centralisation 
of  the  work  of  training  at  Madras  did  not  meet  with 
success.  It  was  not  desirable  that  those  clergy  who  were 
destined  at  a  later  period  to  dwell  amidst  the  rudimentary 
surroundings  of  the  solitudes  of  Tinnevelly  should  become 
accustomed,  during  a  residence  of  several  years,  to  the 
exaggerated  conditions  of  English  city  life,  and  a  ponderous 
equipment  in  English  theology  was  found  to  be  of  little 
service  to  workers  in  the  modest  Shanan  villages.  The 
Theological  Seminary  in  Madras  was  therefore  closed,  the 
Institution  at  Palamcottah  was  again  opened  as  a  seminary  for 
catechists,  and  a  similar  foundation,  the  Cambridge  Nicholson 
Institution,  was  erected  at  Cottayam  for  Travancore  in  the  year 
i860.  It  was  at  this  time  that  the  methed  of  training  which 
seems  to  us  most  fitting  for  the  simple  requirements  of  the 
Shanan  Mission  was  adopted.  By  this  scheme  the  cleverest 
children  in  the  village  schools  were  passed  on  to  the  boarding 
schools  at  the  various  stations ;  those  who  distinguished  them- 
selves there  were  promoted  either  to  the  catechists'  seminary 
or  to  that  for  school  teachers,  where  after  a  given  course  of 
study  they  were  sent  out  and  located  at  various  places  in  the 
district  as  assistants.  If  they  stood  the  test  of  this  practical 
service  for  a  number  of  years,  they  were  once  more  sent  to 
college,  this  time  to  a  final  theological  course,  and  when  they 
hfed  finished  this,  they  were  ordained.  The  entire  course  of 
training  is  in  this  instance  given  in  Tamil.  The  Church 
Missionary  Society  has  again  recently  been  making  efforts  to 
raise  its  system  of  theological  training  to  a  higher  level,  partly 
because  the  churches  in  Madras,  Masulipatam,  and  other  large 
towns  need  a  more  highly  trained  pastorate,  and  partly  because 
of  the  exalted  ideas  of  ministerial  status  consequent  upon  the 
increasing  ritualistic  tendencies  of  the  day.  In  addition,  there- 
fore, to  the  seminaries  where  instruction  is  given  in  the  ver- 
nacular— at  Cottayam  in  Malayalam,  at  Palamcottah  in  Tamil, 
and  at  Masulipatam  in  Telugu — the  Society  has  deemed  it 
necessary  to  open  yet  another  Divinity  School  in  Madras  (1884), 
where  advanced  courses  in  English  only  are  given  to  the  most 
proficient  amongst  the  native  helpers. 

In   North  India  the  Church  Missionary  Society    contented 


424  HISTORY   OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

itself  until  about  1870  with  giving  its  catechists  private  training 
at  the  hands  of  specially  qualified  missionaries.  In  1868  Rev.  J. 
Welland  inaugurated  a  "  Bengali  Preparation  Class  "  at  Calcutta. 
It  was  not  till  ten  years  later,  however,  that  Rev.  W.  Blackett, 
a  thoroughly  trained  theologian,  was  sent  out  to  found  a 
"  Divinity  School "  specially  intended  for  candidates  for  ordina- 
tion ;  this  he  did  first  at  Krishnagar,  and  afterwards,  in  1880,  at 
Calcutta.  In  the  Punjab  Rev.  T.  V.  French,  one  of  the  most 
brilliant  Indian  missionaries  of  the  Church  Missionary  Society, 
founded  a  "  Divinity  School  "  of  a  very  high  status,  and  with 
obligatory  instruction  in  Hebrew,  at  Lahore  in  1869.  As  well  as 
this  Urdu  Seminary,  another  "  Divinity  School "  was  opened  at 
Allahabad  in  1882  (by  the  gifted  Dr.  Hooper)  for  the  United 
Provinces  and  for  the  Hindu  section  of  the  population,  whilst  at 
the  same  time  a  similar  training  college  was  erected  at  Poona 
tor  the  whole  of  the  work  in  the  Bombay  Presidency.  Almost 
all  these  institutions  have  passed  through  similar  vicissitudes  to 
those  in  the  Presidency  of  Madras. 

The  Wesleyan  Methodist  Missionary  Society  in  Ceylon  (and 
here  we  refer  to  their  Singhalese  work ;  in  the  Tamil  district 
around  Jaffna  the  course  of  instruction  varies  in  many  particu- 
lars) accepts  as  candidates  for  ordination  only  those  who  have 
served  for  a  number  of  years  as  evangelists,  though  these 
candidates  may  either  have  been  engaged  in  business  or  have 
come  directly  from  one  of  the  educational  colleges.  A  tolerably 
good  English  education  and  genuine  piety,  proved  by  a  blameless 
life,  are  demanded  of  all  seeking  admission.  A  course  lasting 
one  year  only  in  the  Theological  Institution  at  Richmond  Hill 
(Galle)  is  prescribed,  but  the  majority  of  the  candidates  remain 
there  three  years  before  being  able  to  pass  the  leaving  examina- 
tion of  the  college.  After  this,  they  do  not  as  a  general  rule 
enter  the  ministry  at  once,  but  are  employed  as  catechists  for  a 
period  varying  from  one  to  four  years,  and  during  this  time  they 
must  pass  a  yearly  Catechists'  Examination.  They  then  serve 
for  at  least  four  years  as  "  ministers  on  probation,"  during  which 
period  they  must  in  their  leisure  hours  work  through  a  prescribed 
theological  course  with  certain  prescribed  books,  and  test  their 
knowledge  by  an  annual  examination ;  should  they  fail,  that 
particular  year  is  not  counted  either  in  their  ministerial  record 
or  in  their  salary  scale.  Only  when  they  have  passed  these  four 
annual  examiinations — that  is,  after  four  years  at  the  very  least — 
are  they  received  as  ministers  in  full  connection.^  As  such  they 
receive  a  higher  salary,  and  are  entitled  to  a  seat  and  a  vote  in 
the  Synods. 

'  The  Wcskyan  Alethodist  Church.  India  and  Ceylon.  Madras,  1S99,  pp.  107 
et  setj. 


THE  SUCCESS  OF  MISSIONS  425 

The  Congregationalists  connected  with  the  Madura  Mission 
(the  American  Board)  send  out  catechists  who  have  received 
some  measure  of  elementary  training  to  such  villages  as  already 
contain  a  few  Christians  or  applicants  for  baptism,  and  often 
enough  these  catechists  are  yoCing  men  who  have  merely  gone 
through  the  elementary  or  intermediate  schools.  If  they  meet 
with  good  success,  and  should  their  flocks  desire  to  retain  their 
services  as  permanent  pastors,  they  proceed,  for  a  shorter  or 
longer  period  as  the  case  may  be,  to  the  theological  training 
college  at  Pasumalai,  They  are  then  tested  by  the  missionaries 
as  to  their  spiritual  equipment,  and  if  they  pass  through  the 
ordeal  successfully  they  are  ordained  for  the  spiritual  service 
of  the  native  Church  which  proposed  them  in  the  first  instance. 

The  requirements  and  aims  of  the  various  societies  differ  so 
widely  upon  the  subject  of  the  training  of  native  agents  that 
repeated  and  thorough  discussion  at  all  the  great  missionary 
conferences  has  merely  served  to  demonstrate  the  variety  of 
methods  employed  and  bring  forward  the  arguments  for  and 
against  each  separate  method.  It  is  therefore  unfortunately 
impossible  to  write  a  connected  history  of  this  important  branch 
of  missionary  labour.  A  few  general  principles  only  have  met 
with  universal  acceptance.  For  instance,  nearly  everywhere  the 
distinction  is  made  between  a  lower  order  of  catechists  and 
an  ordained  ministry;  admission  to  this  latter  is  invariably 
dependent  upon  service  that  has  stood  the  test  of  years,  and 
in  most  cases  upon  the  completion  of  a  course  of  higher 
theological  instruction.  Since  fixed  standards  of  education 
have  been  introduced,  thanks  to  the  Indian  educational  system, 
the  view  is  very  generally  prevalent  that  all  candidates  for  the 
position  of  catechist  shall  at  least  have  passed  through  the  lower 
secondary  classes.  Only  in  missions  to  the  aborigines  or  with 
catechists  whose  work  would  be  confined  to  wholly  ignorant 
outcastes  is  there  any  inclination  to  accept  such  as  possess 
nothing  but  an  elementary  education.  For  ordination  the 
opinion  is  widely  shared  that  the  Indian  matriculation  examina- 
tion should  be  taken  as  the  standard  of  general  education,  and 
many  societies  have  actually  fixed  it  as  such,  or  at  any  rate 
have  pointed  it  out  to  their  candidates  as  a  desirable  qualifica- 
tion. But  no  hard  and  fast  rule  can  be  made  in  the  matter,  as 
the  consequence  would  be  that  applicants  for  ordination  would 
be  forced  to  remain  continuously  at  school  until  they  had  passed 
this  examination,  and  this  would  mean  that  the  very  desirable 
probationary  period  in  the  inferior  position  of  a  catechist  would 
be  lost  or  would  have  to  be  made  up  afterwards  by  a  long  period 
of  service  as  curate  or  probationer.  As  long  as  various  independ- 
ent missionary  organisations  (particularly  the  Baptists)  ordain 


426  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

persons  whose  education  is  wholly  defective,  this  will  be  looked 
upon  as  an  abuse  tending  to  degrade  the  ministerial  office  in 
the  eyes  of  both  Christians  and  heathen.  On  the  other  hand,  it 
cannot  be  denied  that  particularly  the  English-trained  town 
clergy,  belonging  as  they  frequently  do  to  the  third  generation 
of  Christian  families,  have  been  anglicised  to  a  deplorable  extent, 
and  thereby  estranged  from  their  own  people.  The  strict 
regulations  of  the  Government  educational  system  have  brought 
about  in  almost  every  part  of  the  country  an  entire  separation 
between  the  schoolmasters  of  the  country  and  the  catechists 
and  clergy ;  in  spite  of  the  appointment  by  the  State  of  a 
paid  body  of  teachers  equipped  with  splendid  certificates  and 
testimonials,  the  clergy  everywhere  endeavour  to  maintain  a 
certain  superiority  over  them. 

The  conviction  is  generally  held  that  a  thorough  course  of 
training  at  some  theological  college  is  indispensable  for  every 
catechist.  It  is  remarkable  how  slowly  this  idea  has  won  for 
itself  acceptance  in  missionary  circles.  The  Wesleyan  Methodist 
Missionary  Society  has  been  working  among  the  Tamils  of 
Madras  since  the  year  1817,  in  the  Cauvery  Delta  since  1820, 
and  at  Bangalore  amongst  the  Tamil  immigrants  of  the  Mysore 
since  1826;  but  not  until  the  year  1899  did  it  open  a  training 
college  at  Guindy,  near  Madras,  for  the  catechists  and  teachers 
engaged  in  its  entire  Tamil  missions.  It  is  characteristic, 
however,  that  when  once  a  beginning  had  been  made,  the 
Kanarese  Mission^  of  the  Wesleyans  and  their  young  Telugu 
missions^  at  Medak  were  equipped  at  once  (1899)  with  training 
colleges  for  catechists.  The  American  Presbyterians  in  the 
United  Provinces  and  the  Punjab  have  also  deferred  for  a 
remarkably  long  time  the  opening  of  a  seminary.  Although 
they  have  been  working  in  both  these  provinces  since  1835  and 
1836  respectively,  and  although  many  distinguished  missionaries 
have  been  found  in  their  ranks,  they  did  not,  save  for  a  few 
shortlived  attempts,  proceed  to  the  erection  of  a  training  college 
for  native  helpers  until  1885,  when  one  was  built  at  Saharanpur. 
German  missionary  societies  have  made  a  science  of  the 
training  of  their  native  agents.  The  Basle  Missionary  Society, 
and  even  more  the  Leipzig  Missionary  Society  enjoy  in  South 
India  the  reputation,  which  is  in  our  eyes  thoroughly  well 
deserved,  of  possessing  a  particularly  well-trained  staff  of 
assistants. 

Altogether,  the  missionary  statistics  for  1900  give  a  total  of 
893    ordained    Indian    pastors    as    against  5755  assistants    and 

^  In   conjunction   with    Haidwickc   College   in    Mysore   City,   which   was    built 
in  1901. 

^  Founded  in  1S79. 


THE  SUCCESS  OF  MISSIONS  427 

catechists ;  of  these  pastors,  402  are  found  in  the  Presidency 
of  Madras,  159  in  Bengal,  188  in  the  United  Provinces,  and 
the  remaining  144  are  spread  over  the  Punjab,  Central  India, 
the  Central  Provinces,  Bombay,  Gujarat,  etc.  These  900  odd 
Hindu  clergy  are  the  glory  and  the  crown  of  Indian  missions  ; 
amongst  them  are  to  be  found  a  long  list  of  men  of  the  highest 
intellectual  and  spiritual  gifts,  who  would  have  adorned  any 
public  office,  and  who  would  likewise  have  attained  no  slight 
distinction  in  the  academic  world.  We  shall  content  ourselves 
with  naming  W.  T.  Satthianadhan  and  Rajagopal  in  Madras, 
Krishna  Mohan  Banerjea,  Lai  Behari  Day  and  Mathura  Nath 
Bose  in  Bengal,  Abdul  Masih,  Imad-ud-Din,K.  C.  Chatterjea,  Jani 
Ali  and  Nehemiah  Goreh  in  North  India,  Narayan  Sheshadri, 
Hormazji  Pestonji,  Dhanjibhai  Naoroji  and  V.  B.  Karmarkar 
in  the  Bombay  Presidency.  It  says  something  for  the  import- 
ance of  these  native  preachers  when  Professor  S.  Satthianadhan 
of  Madras,  in  his  attempt  to  collect  biographies  of  the  most 
distinguished  Indian  Christians,  chooses  in  a  total  number  of 
forty-two  men  and  women,  twenty-nine  belonging  to  the  native 
pastorate.^  In  our  detailed  History  of  Indian  Missions  we  shall 
encounter  these  pillars  of  the  Indian  Church  in  every  part  of 
the  mission  field. 

To  get  a  glimpse  of  the  degree  of  education  possessed  by 
the  native  staff  of  the  various  societies,  we  shall  analyse  that 
section  of  it  belonging  to  South  India.  This  section  is  com- 
posed of  10,551  missionary  agents  ;  of  these  lOO  are  graduates 
of  universities,  250  have  passed  their  first  University  examina- 
tion (the  First  in  Arts),  650  have  passed  the  leaving  examination, 
2650  have  passed  through  the  lower  secondary  schools,  and 
6500  through  the  elementary  schools ;  406  of  them  are 
ordained  pastors,  2775  assistants  and  catechists,  71  colporteurs, 
786  Bible-women,  and  6315  teachers  in  schools. 


4.  The  Building  ur  of  the  Christian  Church 
OF  India 

During  the  first  half  of  the  nineteenth  century  the  native 
churches  in  connection  with  all  the  various  missionary  agencies 
were  equally  dependent  on  the  missionaries  and  their  respective 
societies.  Missionaries  were  the  preachers  and  pastors,  the 
parents  and  counsellors  of  the  Christians ;  even  where  they 
employed  native  assistants  in  the  oversight  of  the  churches, 
they  were  only  the  curates,  so  to  speak,  of  the  missionaries,  who 
did  that  part  of  the  work  for  which  these  latter  had  neither  the 

'^  Sketches  of  Indian  Christians.     Madras,  1896. 


42  8  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

time  nor  the  strength.  That  it  was  by  no  means  an  ideal 
arrangement  to  have  Europeans  as  pastors  over  Indian 
congregations  had  as  yet  occurred  to  hardly  a  single  missionary 
society,  and  such  a  state  of  things  fitted  in  perfectly  with  the 
Mabap  ^  system,  which  at  that  time  was  still  universally 
prevalent. 

When  that  well-known  Secretary  of  the  American  Board, 
Dr.  Rufus  Anderson,  and  his  friend  Dr.  Augustus  Thompson, 
were  on  their  important  deputation  tour  to  the  Board's  stations 
in  India  and  Ceylon  in  1854-1855,  they  were  authorised  to  take 
in  hand  the  reorganisation  of  the  native  churches.  The  views 
then  held  by  the  ablest  experts  on  the  mission  field  were 
well  expressed  by  a  missionary  of  the  American  Board 
(Harding)  at  the  Allahabad  Conference  in  1872.  "As  to 
the  condition  of  church  membership,  we  suppose  a  spiritual 
union  with  Christ  is  the  only  and  indispensable  pre-requisite. 
There  can  be  no  Christian  fellowship  without  fellowship  with 
Christ,  and  unconverted  men  can  add  no  strength  to  a  church. 
If  received,  they  must  ever  be  a  source  of  weakness  to  it.  The 
rights  and  responsibilities  of  a  church  should  be  respected  from 
the  outset ;  they  should  be  recognised  as  coming,  not  from  the 
mission,  but  from  Christ.  These  righfs  and  responsibilities 
have  respect  to  all  the  concerns  of  the  church.  The  choice  of 
the  pastor  and  other  officers — the  support  of  the  pastor  and  the 
decision  with  him  of  the  amount  of  his  salary — the  discipline  of 
the  church — the  erection  and  care  of  the  place  of  worship — and 
efforts  for  the  extension  of  Christ's  kingdom.  In  most  of  these 
matters  the  missionary  will  aid  the  infant  church  by  counsel 
and  advice,  and  for  a  season,  as  agent  of  a  foreign  society,  he 
will  help  to  support  the  pastor,  if  need  be ;  but  only  as  supple- 
menting what  the  church  gives.  It  is  very  likely  that  churches 
thus  thrown  upon  their  own  responsibilities  will  sometimes 
make  mistakes,  as  they  did  in  the  first  century.  But  if  they 
have  true  allegiance  to  Christ,  we  ought  to  trust  them.  The 
apostles,  after  ordaining  one  or  more  elders  in  every  church — 
taking,  we  suppose,  the  most  suitable  men  available — did  not 
hesitate  to  leave  the  churches  to  work  out  their  own  destiny 
under  the  guidance  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  Is  it  not  safe  to  follow 
their  example.?  Nor  do  we  think  it  at  all  expedient  for  the 
missionaries  to  be  combined  with  the  converts  of  this  country  in 
their  ecclesiastical  organisations.  Our  work  as  evangelists  and 
agents  of  foreign  societies  must  be  temporary  in  its  nature, 
and  by  acting  only  in  our  own  distinctive  character  as  mission- 
aries, we  are  able  to  render  all  necessary  assistance,  while  we 
avoid  many  grave  difficulties,  and  at  the  same  time  furnish  the 
iCf.  p.  4". 


THE  SUCCESS  OF  MISSIONS 


429 


best  opportunity  for  free  and  spontaneous  action  in  the  native 
church."! 

But  the  Board  was  far-seeing  enough  to  perceive  that  these 
views  of  the  Churches  at  home  could  only  be  carried  out  on 
the  mission  field  subject  to  certain  modifications,  and  it  was 
catholic  enough  to  leave  the  form  which  these  particular 
modifications  of  congregational  principles  should  take  in  the 
hands  of  the  missionaries  on  the  field.  In  this  manner  a  new 
and  important  element  in  Indian  missions  was  evolved,  namely, 
the  conception  of  an  Indian  Church  independent  of  assistance 
from  the  great  foreign  Society  or  Board.  Anderson's  views 
are  happily  expressed  in  three  words :  the  native  churches 
should  be  "self-supporting,  self-governing,  and  self-propaga- 
ting." These  Congregationalist  principles,  which  Anderson 
advocated  with  such  skill,  enthusiasm,  and  erudition,  are  in 
their  essentials  those  accepted  by  the  American  Board,  the 
London  Missionary  Society,  and  almost  all  the  Baptist  Missions 
in  India — at  any  rate  in  theory,  for  in  practice  the  missionaries 
have  received  a  position  of  greater  influence  and  more  extensive 
power  than  the  foregoing  principles  would  have  led  one  to 
expect.  The  tracing  out  of  these  modifications  in  detail,  we 
must  reserve  for  our  detailed  history  of  the  several  missions, 

Anderson's  ideas  were  also  and  quite  independently 
agitating  the  mind  of  his  great  contemporary,  Henry  Venn, 
the  greatest  Missionary  Secretary  of  the  Church  Missionary 
Society,  and  that  at  a  time  when  the  diminution  of  receipts 
and  the  lack  of  offers  for  missionary  service  were  bringing 
before  his  Society  the  grave  question  of  retrenchment  on  a 
large  scale.  Venn's  ideas  were  briefly  as  follows  :  the  ambition 
of  every  evangelical  mission  is  its  "  Euthanasia,"  its  develop- 
ment into  an  independent  self-governing  native  church  which 
has  grown  up  under  the  fostering  care  of  a  missionary  society 
from  abroad  and  become  competent  to  manage  its  own  affairs. 
With  this  object  in  view,  a  clear  distinction  must  be  maintained 
between  the  evangelisation  of  the  heathen  and  the  pastoral 
oversight  of  the  Christians,  Strictly  speaking,  the  first  only 
is  the  duty  of  the  missionary  society.  Every  society  ought 
therefore  to  limit  itself  as  quickly  and  as  consistently  as 
possible  to  this  its  divine  task.  This  being  the  case,  Venn 
thought  that  the  missionary  society  and  its  agents  ought  to 
confine  themselves  to  those  branches  of  activity  which  directly 
serve  the  proclamation  of  the  gospel  amongst  the  heathen, 
such  as  vernacular  preaching,  zenana  work,  medical  missions, 
and  so  forth ;  they  should,  furthermore,  retain  the  direction 
of  the  great  institutions,  the  orphanages,  the  colleges,  and  the 

1  Report  of  General  Miss.  Conf.  at  Allahabad,  pp.  288-290. 


430  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

boarding  schools,  and  the  training  colleges  for  preachers  and 
teachers.  All  this  unwieldy  machinery  ought  not,  in  his 
opinion,  to  be  laid  on  the  weak  shoulders  of  the  Indian  churches 
for  a  considerable  time  to  come.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
Christian  congregations  once  gathered  together  ought  to  make 
themselves  entirely  responsible  for  their  own  pastors.  The 
two  most  important  obligations  in  this  connection  are  (i) 
that  the  native  church  should  learn  to  collect  the  funds  for 
its  own  ecclesiastical  needs, — the  salary  of  its  pastor  and  its 
teachers,  the  cost  and  maintenance  of  its  church  school, 
minister's  house,  schoolhouse,  etc., — and  (2)  the  administration 
of  these  funds  by  trustworthy  persons.  In  order  to  promote 
these  two  objects,  Venn  proposed  the  appointment  in  every 
pastorate  of  a  "Church  Committee,"  which  was  to  be  in  the 
main  a  body  for  the  collection  of  funds,  though  besides  this 
it  was  to  exercise  all  the  duties  of  elders  in  the  church.  A 
larger  or  smaller  number  of  pastorates  and  church  committees 
were  to  be  united  in  one  large  "  Church  Council,"  whose 
duties  were  the  spending  of  all  monies  received,  the  payment 
of  the  salaries  of  church  and  school  officials,  the  appointment 
of  the  same,  the  arrangements  connected  with  all  new  buildings 
and  repairs  upon  church  property;  in  short,  the  direction  of 
the  entire  ecclesiastical  province  presented  by  it.  As  supreme 
authority  Venn  wished  to  create  a  "  Central  Council,"  a  kind 
of  General  Synod  for  the  ecclesiastical  administration  of  an 
immense  area,  whose  powers  were  to  be  rather  advisory  than 
executive.  The  basis  of  the  scheme  was  the  "  Church  Councils," 
and  on  this  account  Venn's  whole  project  has  been  termed  the 
"  Church  Council  System."  Venn  went  to  work  slowly  with 
the  carrying  out  of  these  plans.  He  thought  it  was  rash,  and 
in  fact  impossible,  to  bring  about  so  radical  a  change  in  church 
administration  all  at  once ;  the  native  churches  had  not  been 
trained  to  collect  funds  in  this  way,  nor  were  they  yet  in  a 
condition  to  spend  such  large  sums  faithfully  and  well.  So 
long  as  the  Missionary  Boards  rendered  them  financial  assist- 
ance they  must  retain  the  right  to  nominate  the  chairmen 
of  the  Church  Councils,  and  through  them  to  control  the 
executive  and  spending  powers  of  those  bodies.  The  obvious 
background  of  the  scheme  was  of  course  the  Anglican  episcopal 
system,  in  which  the  spiritual  direction  of  the  church,  the 
oversight  and  ordination  of  the  clergy,  church  discipline,  etc., 
were  purely  episcopal  functions.  Only  with  this  background 
are  Venn's  gifted  ideas  feasible. 

Venn  imparted  these  plans  to  his  Committee  and  to  the 
missionaries  of  his  Society  in  three  great  memoranda  (those 
of   1 85 1,    18C1,   and    1866),   and   then    commenced   rapidly  to 


THE  SUCCESS  OF  MISSIONS  431 

introduce  this  Church  Council  system  throughout  the  whole 
of  the  Indian  mission  stations  of  his  Society — though  we 
should  note  that  it  was  confined  almost  solely  to  the  Indian 
work  of  the  Society.  A  new  era  for  C.M.S.  missions  in  India 
was  thereby  opened.  This  development  has  since  become  of 
such  decisive  importance  that  we  must  mention  at  any  rate 
its  leading  features.  Its  first  consequence  was  that  on  the 
older  mission  fields,  particularly  in  Tinnevelly  and  Krishnagar, 
where  there  were  consolidated  Christian  communities,  the 
number  of  missionaries  was  perceptibly  reduced.  The  system 
was  introduced  at  Tinnevelly  in  the  year  1869,  and  the 
country  divided  up  into  ten  Church  Councils.  Instead, 
however,  of  placing  a  missionary  in  authority  at  the  head  of 
each  of  these,  the  older  missionaries  were  allowed  gradually  to 
drift  out  of  the  work,  whether  owing  to  death  or  return  to  the 
home  country,  so  that,  ten  years  later,  only  one  such  missionary, 
Rev.  Edward  Sargent,  was  still  in  the  district,  and  he  mean- 
while had  been  created  a  bishop.  The  entire  ecclesiastical 
oversight  of  the  Tinnevelly  Mission  was  thus  laid  on  one 
pair  of  shoulders. 

This  resulted  in  the  ten  District  Councils  being  transformed 
into  one  great  Church  Council,  having  under  it  fifteen  "  Circle 
Committees"  presided  over  by  native  clergymen.  Ever  since 
this  great  change  the  growth  of  the  mission,  up  to  that  time 
the  most  successful  in  India  belonging  to  the  Church  Missionary 
Society,  has  been  practically  at  a  standstill.  This  is  probably 
not  entirely  due  to  the  rapid  withdrawal  of  the  European 
missionaries,  although  that  undoubtedly  had  a  good  deal  to 
do  with  it.  The  fault  lies  not  so  much  in  Venn's  plans  as  in 
the  manner  in  which  he  applied  them  to  Indian  missions ; 
he  could  easily  have  taken  sufficient  precautions  by  making  the 
Church  Council  districts  smaller,  and  by  placing  at  the  head  of 
each  of  them  a  competent  and  experienced  missionary. 

Yet  we  cannot  deny  that  there  were  dangers  in  Venn's 
scheme  which  were  evolved  slowly  but  surely,  and  which  have 
since  necessitated  its  revision.  We  shall  only  enumerate  three 
of  them.  The  sharp  line  drawn  between  pure  evangelisation 
and  pastoral  work  is  quite  untenable  whilst  the  Christian  com- 
munity remains  a  tiny  minority  in  the  midst  of  an  all-prevailing 
and  all-surrounding  heathenism.  Under  such  circumstances 
it  is  far  from  healthy  to  concentrate  the  thoughts  of  the  whole 
native  church  exclusively  upon  its  own  ecclesiastical  interests. 
To  do  so  cripples  both  their  missionary  spirit  and  their 
missionary  power.  Then,  too,  the  separation  of  the  missionaries 
from  the  native  Christians  is  likewise  unhealthy  ;  according  to 
Venn's  ideas,  the  former  (save  that  they  occupied  the  chairman- 


432  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

ship  of  the  Church  Council)  were  to  have  no  official  connection 
with  the  native  churches,  not  even  with  the  Christians  who  had 
been  converted  through  their  instrumentality,  as  soon  as  these 
latter  had  been  baptized.  The  barrier  erected  by  distinctions 
of  race — which  was  already  perceptible  enough — was  thereby 
considerably  strengthened,  and  a  separation  of  interests  brought 
about  in  the  very  point  where  the  most  inward  unity  and 
harmony  should  have  prevailed.  In  this  connection  we  find 
our  third  criticism,  that  by  this  system  the  difference  between 
the  work  and  aims  of  the  missionary  society  and  those  of  the 
church  it  has  brought  into  being  is  unnecessarily  accentuated  ; 
hence  the  unwholesome  view  that  the  parent  society  has  nothing 
to  do  with  the  native  church  nor  the  church  with  the  society. 
Criticise,  however,  as  we  may,  it  must  be  admitted  that  Venn's 
ideas  constitute  the  most  brilliant  original  attempt  to  solve  the 
problem  of  the  building  up  of  a  native  Christian  church  on  a 
national  basis,  and  also  that  the  great  groups  of  adherents  of 
the  Church  Missionary  Society  in  South  India  have  made,  com- 
paratively speaking,  far  and  away  the  greatest  advance  towards 
becoming  self-supporting  churches.^  Other  missionary  societies 
have  reproduced  in  their  Indian  work,  with  greater  or  smaller 
modifications,  the  ecclesiastical  systems  of  the  homeland.  In 
some  cases  this  has  been  accomplished  by  regarding  the  native 
communities  as  an  ecclesiastical  province  of  the  parent  church 
at  home :  this  is  the  method  adopted  by  the  American  Presby- 
terians, the  Established  Church  of  Scotland,  and  the  Hermanns- 
burg  Missionary  Society  ;  or  independent  bodies  or  synods  have 
been  constituted  in  which  the  supreme  powers  are  in  the  hands 
of  the  missionary  society  or  missionary  board :  such  are  most 
of  the  German  and  German-American  missions.  The  most 
complicated  method  of  administration  is  that  adopted  by 
the  Methodists,  especially  as  exercised  with  great  care  by 
the  American  Episcopal  Methodists  in  North  India.  The 
mission  field  is  divided  into  circuits,  at  the  head  of  each  of 
which  a  preacher  in  charge  is  placed  ;  a  number  of  circuits 
compose  a  "  district,"  with  a  presiding  elder  at  its  head.  Yet 
again  a  number  of  districts  form  a  church  province  presided 
over  by  a  bishop,  but  matters  are  so  arranged  as  to  allow  several 

1  A  successful  attempt  to  readapt  Venn's  Church  Council  system  has  recently 
been  made  in  the  Punjab  Mission  of  the  Church  Missionary  Society.  By  it  all 
Christians  united  in  membership  with  the  Church  Missionary  Society,  missionaries 
as  well  as  natives,  are  united  in  one  great  body,  at  the  head  of  which  stands  a 
Central  Council  ;  this  Council  is  composed  of  deputies  from  the  Missionary  Committee 
at  home,  of  members  of  the  local  corresponding  committees,  and  of  chosen  represent- 
atives of  the  churches  in  the  provinces.  Beneath  it  are  the  District  Councils,  and 
for  this  purpose  the  Punjab  Mission  is  divided  into  six  districts.  In  every  community 
there  is  a  "  Pastorate  Committee"  for  conducting  business  of  a  purely  local  character 
{^Proceedings,  1905,  p.  228). 


THE  SUCCESS  OF  MISSIONS  433 

church  provinces  to  be  united  under  one  bishop.  In  this  intri- 
cate system,  which  is  even  more  finely  articulated  than  Venn's 
in  its  lower  branches,  European  missionaries  as  such  have  no 
place,  they  may  be  preachers,  or  presiding  elders,  or  bishops, 
but  it  may  easily  happen  that  as  such  they  may  be  subordinate 
to  natives.  Such  a  system  is  calculated  to  attract  native 
Christians  to  take  a  larger  share  in  the  work  of  the  church. 

Attempts  to  develop  the  native  churches  brought  into  being 
by  missions  form  one  of  the  characteristic  features  of  Indian 
missionary  effort,  particularly  since  the  year  1870  or  there- 
abouts. It  is  a  matter  of  the  greatest  interest  to  note  what 
methods  have  been  adopted  in  this  direction  by  the  various 
societies,  and  what  degree  of  success  they  have  met  with  up  to 
the  present  time.  But  this  is  so  individual  an  affair,  and  even 
when  figures  tabulating  its  results  are  available  it  becomes  a 
matter  to  be  only  considered  and  pronounced  judgment  upon  in 
connection  with  the  internal  working  of  each  separate  mission  ; 
we  shall  therefore  be  acting  more  wisely  in  postponing  it  to  our 
detailed  history  of  missions. 

This  we  can  say,  that  so  far  an  independent  Indian  Church 
does  not  exist,  nor  can  it  do  so  until  the  great  majority  of  the 
population  in  all  the  larger  provinces  of  the  country  has  come 
over  to  the  side  of  Christianity,  thereby  rendering  the  principal 
part  of  the  work  of  the  missionary  societies  unnecessary.  Even 
then  the  Missionary  Board  can  only  relinquish  the  work  so  far 
as  to  give  to  the  Indian  Church  such  freedom  of  action  as  may 
best  enable  it  to  make  regulations  calculated  to  secure  its  own 
development. 

Efforts  to  establish  one  great  uniform  Protestant  church  in 
India  have  been  not  lacking ;  some  of  these  plans  have  even  gone 
so  far  as  to  ignore  the  missionary  societies,  others  to  totally  dis- 
regard the  points  of  difference  both  in  doctrine  and  otherwise 
which  exist  between  them.  The  educated  Christians  of  the 
upper  classes  are  the  advocates  of  such  schemes,  and  their  in- 
spired and  eloquent  protagonist  was  Kali  Charan  Banerjea,  a 
distinguished,  honoured,  and  truly  earnest  Christian,  once  chief 
executive  officer  of  the  University  of  Calcutta.  He  founded 
an  association  in  Calcutta  in  1870  which  was  to  be  the  basis  of 
a  National  Christian  Church  of  Bengal.  He  desired  to  build 
up  an  organisation  more  in  harmony  with  Oriental  ideas  and 
tastes  :  a  bishop  elected  for  life  was  to  be  placed  at  the  head  of 
it,  but  was  to  possess  no  greater  authority  than  the  Moderator 
of  a  Presbyterian  Synod.  The  individual  churches  were  to 
manage  their  own  affairs.  Great  importance  was  attached  to 
baptism  by  immersion.  It  was  thus  an  attempt  to  unite  in 
eclectic  fashion  the  leading  ideas  of  all  the  great  missionary 
28 


434  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

societies.  The  name  of  the  association  was  altered  from  time 
to  time ;  now  it  was  known  as  the  Bengal  Christian  Association, 
now  as  the  "  Christo  Samaj."  A  "  Western  India  Native 
Christian  Alliance"  having  the  same  objects  in  view  was 
founded  in  Bombay  in  1871.  How  intensely  the  question 
occupied  the  minds  of  Indian  Christians  was  shown  in 
December  1879,  when  the  Synods  of  the  Church  Missionary 
Society  and  of  the  American  Presbyterians  met  in  Amritsar 
and  Lahore  respectively.  At  these  Synods  the  native  clergy 
frankly  expressed  the  opinion  that  the  difficulties  which  stand 
in  the  way  of  the  establishment  of  a  national  church  for 
India  were  caused  solely  by  the  missionaries.  The  native 
brethren  of  every  denomination  regarded  themselves  as  one 
united  body,  since  with  regard  to  the  central  teaching  of 
Christianity  no  difference  of  opinion  was  to  be  found 
amongst  them.  "  Substantive  Christianity  and  not  adjective 
Christianity  should  alone  be  cultivated  amongst  us."  "  But  be- 
cause the  European  missionaries,  from  whom  they  had  received 
the  gospel  and  in  dependence  upon  whom  they  now  found 
themselves,  were  not  united,  the  native  Christians  must  perforce 
also  remain  apart."  "  We  native  Christians  of  the  Punjab  are 
neither  Presbyterians  nor  Episcopalians,  and  we  have  hitherto, 
thank  God,  lived  together  in  such  loving  union  that  we  have 
scarcely  perceived  our  connection  with  the  various  denomina- 
tions." The  question  received  special  and  enthusiastic  attention 
at  the  General  Missionary  Conferences  held  at  Allahabad  in 
1872  and  Bombay  in  1892,  but  without  getting  any  farther  than 
catching  the  echoes,  so  to  speak,  of  music  that  was  still  a  long 
way  ahead.  Since  that  time  the  movement  has  lost  much  of 
its  importance.  Quite  recently  a  "  National  Church  "  has  been 
established  in  Madras,  but  it  has  won  no  general  recognition. 
Far  more  important  in  South  India  is  the  "  Madras  Native 
Christian  Association"  (founded  in  1887),  an  inter-denomina- 
tional body  which  aims  at  a  practical  support  of  all  poor 
Christians,  and  a  friendly  interchange  of  ideas  between  the 
various  sections  of  Indian  Christendom. 

In  view  of  these  attempts,  it  is  remarkable  that  the  various 
great  groups  of  missionary  societies,  the  Baptists,  the  Methodists, 
the  Lutherans,  etc.,  have  hitherto  made  so  few  attempts  to 
unite  within  their  own  immediate  circles.  This  is  all  the  more 
striking  when  we  compare  the  successful  efforts  after  ecclesi- 
astical unity  that  have  been  made  by  the  Christians  of  Japan. 
For  Anglican  Missions  a  form  of  organisation  is  already  to 
hand  in  the  Anglican  State  Church  of  India  with  its  episcopacy; 
yet,  in  spite  of  good  episcopal  doctrine,  it  is  evident  how  far 
from  making  for  uniformity  was  this  unwieldy  system,  which 


THE  SUCCESS  OF  MISSIONS  435 

after  all  had  been  created  in  the  first  instance  for  Europeans, 
in  that  for  a  long  time  there  existed  an  earnest  desire  in  C.M.S. 
circles  to  found  a  missionary  episcopate  for  the  native  churches 
of  India  separate  from,  and  in  addition  to,  the  State  episcopate, 
and  the  European  churches  governed  by  it.  This  desire  was 
expressed  in  an  official  memorial  in  the  year  1877,  ^nd  it  is  only 
quite  recently  that  the  impracticability  of  the  project  has  been 
recognised.  In  March  1901  ^  the  Church  Missionary  Society 
published  an  important  memorandum  in  which  it  set  forth,  as 
the  object  of  its  missionary  policy,  a  united  Anglican  Church 
for  Englishmen  and  Indians  as  far  as  possible  in  the  future 
under  Indian  bishops.  Whether  a  closer  union  of  the  Anglican 
Church  of  India  on  the  lines  of  this  memorandum  is  being 
planned  for  the  immediate  future  we  are  unable  to  say.  In  any 
case  a  national  organisation  corresponding  to  the  Japanese 
Seikokwei  is  not  contemplated. 

The  Presbyterians  alone  have  made  appreciable  progress  in 
these  attempts  at  closer  union.  Since  the  year  1822  they  have 
with  patient  perseverance  and  varying  success  followed  the  plan 
of  unifying  all  Presbyterian  missions  and  native  churches 
gathered  around  them.  For  twenty  years  past  a  Presbyterian 
Alliance  has  assembled  from  time  to  time  with  the  sole  object 
of  furthering  this  scheme.  The  decision  come  to  in  1882  to 
found  a  great  central  theological  seminary  at  Allahabad  as  a 
bond  of  union  for  all  the  thirteen  Presbyterian  societies  was 
not  carried  out.  In  January,  1901,  a  congress  of  delegates 
was  held  in  Allahabad  which  materially  aided  the  work  of 
unification.  In  October  of  the  same  year  the  missionaries  of 
the  United  Free  Church  and  of  the  American  Reformed  Arcot 
Mission  banded  themselves  together  at  Vellore  under  the  de- 
signation of  the  United  South  Indian  Church.  Terminal 
negotiations  were  then  carried  through  in  North  India :  on 
December  19th,  1904,  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  India 
came  into  existence,  and  held  its  first  General  Synod  at 
Allahabad.  Thus  there  is  now  intimate  communion  between 
the  native  Christians  gathered  in  by  eight  Presbyterian 
missionary  societies.-  What  position  in  or  with  regard  to 
this  ecclesiastical  fellowship  the  missionaries  ought  to  take 
up  has  not  yet  been  determined,  and  is  for  the  present  left 
optional  to  each  missionary  society. 

The  missions  belonging  to  Lutheran  denominations,  parti- 

^  Cf.  Intelligencer,  1901,  pp.  241-270. 

"  "The  United  Free  Church  of  Scotland,  the  Established  Church  of  Scotland, 
the  English,  Irish,  Canadian,  American  Presbyterians,  and  the  American  Reformed 
Church,  and  the  Welsh  Calvinists.  The  American  '  United  Presbyterians,'  the  Scotch 
'  Original  Secession,'  and  a  few  smaller  Presbyterian  missions  have  not  yet  signified 
their  adhesion  to  it. " 


436  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

cularly  those  in  South  India,  are  preparing  the  way  for  closer 
relationships.  In  the  summer  of  1905,  an  "All  India  Lutheran 
Conference  "  sat  for  the  first  time  at  Kodaikanal,  a  health  resort 
on  the  Palni  Mountains,  which  has  proved,  at  any  rate  in  several 
directions,  a  means  of  rapprodieinent — such  as,  for  instance,  in 
founding  a  Lutheran  Literature  Society  and  the  publication  of 
a  common  Lutheran  organ,  the  Gospel  Witness} 

The  Congregational  Missions  in  South  India  (the  London 
Missionary  Society  and  the  American  Board)  also  signified 
their  assent,  at  Madura  in  1905,  to  a  uniform,  if  somewhat 
loose,  church  federation,  which  was  to  include  all  the  native 
churches  of  both  Societies  in  the  Tamil  country,  Travancore, 
and  North  Ceylon. 

In  the  year  1905,  a  plan  originated  by  the  native  Christians 
of  South  India  and  warmly  supported  by  the  missionaries  of 
the  various  Societies  was  conceived :  a  vast  and  purely  Indian 
Missionary  Society  was  to  be  formed  for  the  evangelisation  of 
these  masses  of  the  people  not  yet  touched  by  the  different 
missionary  organisations.  The  National  Missionary  Society  is 
the  outcome  of  these  proposals ;  it  has  begun  work  in  the 
Punjab.  As  by  far  the  greater  number  of  native  Christians 
have  hitherto  shown  a  deplorable  lack  of  interest  in  active 
missionary  work,  every  step  in  this  direction  ought  to  be  re- 
corded with  satisfaction,  even  though  for  the  present  we  may 
have  our  doubts  concerning  the  feasibility  of  their  far-reaching 
proposal.^ 

^  Edited  by  Dr.  Wolf  of  Guntur.  -  Cf.  Intelligencer,  1905,  p.  920. 


APPENDIX 


A.  (Introduction,  p.  12) 

There  are  two  sciences  which  have  largely  contributed  to  clear  up  the 
question  of  the  origin  and  mutual  relationship  of  the  peoples  of  India  : 
during  the  greater  part  of  the  nineteenth  century,  comparative  philology, 
and,  in  quite  recent  years,  anthropology.  The  last-named  claims  to 
have  found  a  sure  test  of  the  relationship  between  the  various  races  in 
the  comparative  measuring  of  those  parts  of  the  body  which  largely 
remain  unchanged  (anthropometry).  In  this  science  three  proportions 
are  mainly  called  in  question — the  proportion  borne  by  the  length  of 
the  head  to  its  breadth,  the  proportion  borne  by  the  length  of  the  nose 
to  its  breadth,  and  the  angle  formed  by  a  line  between  two  correspond- 
ing points  on  the  upper  eyelids  and  the  root  of  the  nose.  For  brevity's 
sake  the  length  of  the  head,  that  of  the  nose,  and  the  line  joining  the 
eyes  are  considered  as  100,  and  the  two  widths  and  the  angle  formed 
by  the  eyes  as  proportions  of  this  number ;  for  instance,  in  one  head 
the  length  is  to  the  breadth  as  100  :  87.  This  proportion  is  then 
termed  the  "index"  of  the  head,  i.e.,  in  the  case  just  considered  the 
index  is  87.  According  to  the  index  of  length  of  head,  therefore,  men 
are  divided  into  "long-headed"  (index  under  75),  "medium-headed" 
(index  75-80),  and  "broad-headed"  (index  over  80) ;  or,  scientifically 
speaking,  into  dolicho-cephales,  meso-cephales,  and  brachy-cephales. 
Similarly,  according  to  the  proportion  of  the  length  to  the  breadth  of 
their  noses,  men  are  divided  into  "narrow-nosed"  (index  under  70), 
"medium-nosed"  (index  70-85),  and  "broad-nosed"  (index  over  85); 
the  scientific  expressions  are  leptorrhines,  mesorrhines,  and  platyrrhines. 
The  angle  between  the  eyes  and  the  nasal  bone  is  only  of  importance 
amongst  Mongolian  races,  who  have  what  is  called  "  oblique "  vision. 
This  remarkable  phenomenon  of  "  slit "  eyes  is  in  no  way  due  to  the 
eyes  of  Mongols  being  differently  placed  to  our  own — as  a  matter  of 
fact  they  are  not ;  the  reason  is  that  in  all  such  peoples  the  root  of  the 
nose  is  remarkably  depressed,  with  the  consequence  that  in  the  angle 
named  above  (which  is  always  an  obtuse  angle)  the  two  sides  are 
together  larger  than  the  base  line.  For  instance,  if  we  take  100  as  the 
length  of  this  base  line,  the  entire  length  of  the  two  sides  (which  is  the 
index  of  the  angle)  is  over  100,  and  we  are  able  to  distinguish  between 
"flat-eyed"  (index  under  no),  "medium-eyed"  (index  110-113),  and 
"  projecting-eyed "  (index  above  113);    or  to  give  them  their   correct 

437 


438  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

names,  platyopic,  mesopic,  and  proopic  faces.  In  the  text  we  have  con- 
tented ourselves  with  the  German  terms,  and  have  only  given  the  index 
number  enclosed  in  brackets  in  extraordinary  cases.  Formerly  it  was 
the  custom  to  attach  chief  importance  to  bodily  size,  and  to  differentiate 
between  big  men  (over  5-57  ft.),  over  average  (5'4i  ft.-5"57  ft.)}  under 
average  (5 "2 5  ft.-5"4i  ft.),  and  small  men  (under  5-25  ft,);  emphasis 
was  also  laid  on  the  colour  of  the  skin,  on  the  hair  and  beard, 
on  the  length  of  the  fore-arm,  and  so  on.  But  it  has  latterly  been 
proved  that  most  of  these  indications  are  dependent  on  chance  causes, 
such  as  food,  climate,  state  of  health,  clothing,  etc.,  and  that  even  in  the 
case  of  closely  related  tribes  or  castes  they  are  by  no  means  constant. 

B.  (Chap.  I.  p.  28) 

Eusebius,  Hist.  EccL,  v.  10  :  wv  els  yevo^evos  koI  6  IlavTaivos  Kat  cis 
'IvSous  IXOeZv  Aeyerat,  tvOa  Adyos  evpclv  airov  Tpo^Odaav  ttjv  airoi/ 
rrapovcTiav  to  Kara  MaT^at'ov  cvayyeAtov  irapa  tlo-lv  avToOi  tov  Xpicnbv 
iireyvwKoaLV,  oTs  (iap6oXop.alov  twv  dTroo-ToAwj/  eVa  Krjpviai,  a^rot?  re 
'Ej3paLU)v  ypa.fjLp.aa-L  ttjv  tov  MarOaiov  KaraAei't/'at  ypa^i'jv. 

C.  (Chap.  I.  p.  29) 

Epist.  Ixx.  ad  magnum  oratorem  :  "  Pantaenus  ob  prsecipuK  erudi- 
tionis  gloriam  a  Demetrio  missus  est  in  Indiam,  ut  Christum  apud 
Brachmanas  et  illius  gentis  philosophos  praedicaret."  We  only  wonder 
what  use  Indian  Christians  could  possibly  make  of  a  Gospel  of  Matthew 
in  Hebrew  ! 

D.  (Chap.  I.  p.  30) 

Fkilosforg.,  iii.  5  :  KaKcW^v  eh  rrjv  uXX-qv  a^LKero  'IvSiktjj/  kol  iroXXa 
Twv  Trap  uorots  ovk  ciayos  hpu>p.€vuiv  eTTavwpOomaTO.  Kat  yap  Kade^ofievoL 
Ttjjv  cvayyeAiKwv  avayvwcrp.aTwv  Ittoiovvto  t7jv  d/<pdacrtv  Ka\  aXXa  tlvo.  u)v 
/XT]  6eio<;  9e<Tp.o^  eTrecrTctTei  htiTrpaTTov  ro  dAAa  TavO"  eKaara  irpo'S  to 
crel3d(Tp.i.ov  a^Tois  8e  ^eo(^tAes  fxeTapvOfXLo-as,  to  t^s  CKKAr^o-ias  Sdy/ta 
CKparvveTO  ov  yap  iSlovTO  (f)T](Tiv  6  SvaaefSr]<;  ovtos,  t^s  to  Oelov  aij3a<; 
^iopOova-rj'i  vcfirjyycruos  i$  dpxrj<;  uTrapaTpwTws  to  €Tepooi;o-tov  Trpc(r(3ev6p.evoi. 
The  Philostorgius  Fi'agmoiia  were  preserved  by  Photius,  who  saw  in 
Philostorgius  a  great  heretic,  and  who  always  introduced  citations  from 
him,  therefore,  with  "Thus  saith  this  heretic,"  and  similar  formulae. 

E.  (Chap.  I.  p.  31) 

It  is  possible,  however,  that  this  entire  tradition  of  Syrian  immi- 
gration from  Mesopotamia  is  erroneous.  Any  absolutely  reliable 
information  supplied  by  succeeding  centuries  points  to  Persia  as  the 
fountainhead  of  Indian  Christianity;  and  in  Persia  at  that  time  the 
Syrian  Church  (the  monophysitic  branch  of  it),  its  language,  usages,  and 
ecclesiastical  discipline  were  all-powerful ;  the  seat  of"  the  Patriarchate, 


APPENDIX  439 

however,  was  Antioch.  Only  after  the  destruction  of  the  Christian 
Church  in  Persia  can  the  ecclesiastical  headquarters  of  the  Indian 
Church  have  been  translated  to  Mesopotamia.  Furthermore,  the 
immigration  of  Thomas  Kanna  and  his  companions  is  stated,  in  other 
native  sources  of  information,  to  have  been  much  later,  about  820. 

F.  (Chap.  I.  p.  34) 

We  give  the  main  paragraph  of  this  highly  interesting  document — the 
translation  is  Dr.  Gundert's :  "  Hari  Sri.  Ganapati  be  adored.  So 
soon  as  the  sacred  sway  of  the  Lord  of  Earth,  the  Master  of  Men, 
Chakravarti  Vira  Kerala  had  passed  in  regular  succession  to  Sri 
Vira  Raghava  Chakravarti,  whose  sceptre  now  settles  the  destiny 
of  many  hundreds  of  thousands  of  cities,  ...  the  following  gracious 
appointment  was  made  in  the  Royal  Palace.  We  have  presented  the 
lordship  of  Manigramam  to  Iravi  Korttan  of  Mahodeverpattanam 
(Kranganur),  who  is  henceforward  to  be  styled  'Great  Merchant  of  the 
Kerala  World.'  We  have  likewise  accorded  him  the  right  to  receive 
vestments  (?),  house  pillars  (?),  income,  the  curved  sword,  and  with  it 
sovereign  control  over  trade  and  commerce,  the  right  to  have  heralds 
and  forerunners,  the  right  to  make  use  of  the  five  instruments  of  music, 
to  conches  and  torches ;  also  the  privilege  of  having  garments  strewn 
before  him  ;  we  have  granted  him  the  use  of  the  palanquin,  the  royal 
umbrella,  the  drum  from  the  north  country ;  the  privilege  of  a  gateway 
with  seats  and  ornamental  arches,  the  sovereign  lordship  over  the  four 
estates,  likewise  over  the  oil  manufacturers  and  the  five  classes  of 
artisans.  We  have  given  as  a  perpetual  possession  of  Iravi  Korttan, 
Lord  of  the  City,  rights  of  brokerage  and  the  customary  tribute  of  all 
that  is  contained  in  the  para,  weighed  with  the  scales,  measured  with 
the  tape,  and  of  all  that  shall  be  sold  or  worn  or  stored,  whether  it  be 
sugar  or  salt,  nutmeg  or  oil,  or  whatever  else  it  may  be,  between  the 
estuary  of  Kodungalur  (Kranganur)  and  the  Tower,  or  within  the  four 
Talis  and  the  towns  belonging  thereto.  We  have  granted  it  as  an 
unconditional  fief  to  Iravi  Korttan,  the  Great  Merchant  of  the  Kerala 
World,  and  his  sons  and  sons'  sons  in  direct  succession  for  ever."  .  .  . 

G.  (Chap.  I.  p.  38) 

Several  references  have  already  been  made  in  the  text  to  Dr.  W. 
Germann's  Die  Kirche  der  Thomaschristen  :  Ein  Beitrag  zur  Geschichte 
der  orient alischeji  Kirchen  (C.  Bertelsmann,  Giitersloh,  pp.  781).  This 
is  a  book  of  reference  based  on  extensive  studies  of  original  sources ; 
the  only  objection  one  can  raise  against  it  is  that  scientific  details  are 
frequently  too  much  in  evidence,  and  the  main  argument  is  thereby 
overladen.  Even  when  we  are  unable  to  accept  Germann's  conclusions, 
he  yet  manages  to  place  the  whole  of  the  materials  we  have  to  go  upon 
in  such  detail  and  in  so  objective  a  fashion  before  us  that  we  are  well 
able  to  form  an  independent  opinion  upon  the  matter  in  question. 

In  connection  with  the  present  section  of  this  history,  and  concern- 


440  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

ing  early  Romish  Missions  in  India,  reference  should  be  made  to  a 
series  of  articles  by  Kunstmann  :  "  Die  Missionen  in  Indien  und  China 
im  14  und  15  Jahrhundert "  {Historischpolitische  Blatter,  1856,  vol.  i.), 
and  to  Germann's  article  on  "  Indien  und  die  abendlandische  Kirche 
im  Mittelalter"  {Allgeju.  Miss.  Zeitschrift,  1874,  p.  350  et  seq.).  A 
model  record  of  Roman  Catholic  missionary  history  from  1498-1744 
is  that  of  Maxim.  Miillbauer,  Geschichte  der  katholischen  Missioneti  in 
Ostindie?i  von  der  Zeit  Fasco  da  Gania's  bis  zur  Mitte  des  18 
Jahrhunderts"  (Freiburg,  1852,  p.  372).  This  work,  which  was  crowned 
by  the  Roman  Catholic  Theological  Faculty  at  Munich,  is  based  on  a 
wide  knowledge  of  original  documents,  and  is  written  with  remarkable 
restraint.  Certainly  the  author  openly  attempts,  e.g.,  to  excuse  even  a 
man  like  Nobili  to  the  uttermost  limits  of  admissibility;  nevertheless 
he  exercises  at  times  a  criticism  that  is  very  just.  The  traditions  con- 
cerning the  labours  of  the  Apostle  Thomas  are  bluntly  labelled  as 
"fairy  tales  composed  by  native  Christians"  (p.  12).  Xavier's  work  is 
dismissed  in  ten  pages  (61-71),  certainly  not  without  prejudice;  and 
he  refers  to  the  so-called  "miracles"  of  that  saint  (p.  67)  without  any 
attempt  at  criticism,  and  unfortunately  would  seem  never  himself  to 
have  read  Xavier's  letters.  The  most  valuable  sections  of  the  book, 
which,  particularly  in  its  early  chapters,  is  now  considerably  out  of  date, 
commence  at  p.  71. 

Our  description  of  Xavier's  labours  is  largely  based  on  Rev.  H. 
Venn's  biography,  as  rendered  into  German  by  Dr.  Hoffmann,  Franz 
Xavier,  ein  weltgeschicJitliches  Missionsbild  (Wiesbaden,  1869,  p.  418). 
Neither  the  first  section,  "The  Progress  of  Missions  before  Xavier's 
Time,"  pp.  1-115,  nor  the  third,  "Christian  Missions  since  Xavier," 
pp.  261-418,  are  of  permanent  value;  but  the  intermediate  portion, 
"Francisco  Xavier's  Life  and  Work,"  pp.  116-260,  is  remarkable  for 
its  accuracy,  conscientious  research,  and  evangelical  charity.  To  obtain 
a  real  knowledge  of  the  times,  however,  it  is  absolutely  necessary  to 
read  for  oneself  Xavier's  "  Letters."  The  edition  we  have  used  is  that 
published  at  Ratisbon  in  1877,  2  vols.  For  the  sake  of  accuracy  we 
may  mention  that  the  story  of  the  crucifix  at  Baranula  is  there  found 
in  vol.  i.,  p.  315,  and  that  of  raising  the  dead  in  vol.  i.,  p.  161. 
Comparison  should  here  be  made  with  Xavier's  letter  of  May  23rd, 
1543  (vol.  i.,  p.  104).  Xavier  was  praying  for  a  woman  in  travail;  by 
means  of  an  interpreter  he  explained  to  her  the  most  important  articles 
of  faith  (!!),  and  "by  God's  grace  the  woman  believed  all  I  declared  to 
her."  In  the  meantime  (!)  the  woman  brought  forth  a  child — and  was 
immediately  baptized  with  her  whole  house. 

For  Xavier's  ignorance  of  the  vernacular  see  vol.  i.,  p.  169,  and 
compare  therewith  the  letter  on  p.  154 — which  may  consist  merely  of 
extracts  made  by  another  hand.  At  that  time,  according  to  the  name 
given  at  the  foot  of  the  letter,  Xavier  was  at  Punical,  i.e.  in  the  very 
midst  of  the  Parava  Christians,  and  the  language  alluded  to  can  only 
mean  the  Tamil  spoken  in  that  region.  The  brief  animadversion  upon 
the  translation  of  "I  believe"  in  the  Creed  (vol.  i.  pp.  141-144)  has, 
however,  very  little  to  do  with  the  matter,  and  only  proves  that  his 


APPENDIX  441 

colleague  (at  that  time  the  only  one),  Mansilla,  was  an  even  worse 
linguist  than  Xavier  (cf.  especially  p.  log).  In  the  letter  on  p.  108  of 
vol.  i.,  Xavier  expresses  himself  on  the  subject  of  his  missionary  methods 
as  on  p.  49  of  the  present  volume :  this  highly  characteristic  letter 
ought  to  be  printed  in  extenso,  but  the  quotation  from  Venn  contains 
a  summary  of  it.  For  the  letter  to  Loyola  mentioned  on  p.  52  of  this 
book,  cf.  Venn,  p.  385  et  seq.,  especially  p.  385  :  "On  account  of  their 
deplorable  vices,  the  natives  are  little  suited  for  Christianity.  So  greatly 
do  they  hate  it  that  the  mere  mention  of  it  is  enough  to  throw  them 
into  a  passion.  They  are  as  afraid  of  being  exhorted  to  embrace 
Christianity  as  they  are  of  death."  The  letter  of  January  20th,  1548, 
to  King  Joao  iii.  will  be  found  in  vol.  i.  pp.  330-338.  For  a  critical 
estimate  of  Francisco  Xavier  and  Robert  de  Nobili,  the  brilliant 
articles  of  Dr.  Hermann  Gundert  in  the  Evang.  Missionary  Magazine, 
1868,  pp.  34  and  49,  will  be  of  interest.  They  are  written  by  one  well 
acquainted  with  the  Tamils  and  Tamil  missions.  Compare  in  the 
same  magazine  the  article  on  "Joseph  Beschi,"  p.  97  et  seq. 

H.  (Chap.  I.  p.  39) 

"  Intravi  in  Indiam  et  fui  in  contrada  Indise  ad  ecclesiam  sancti 
Thomge  Apostoli  mensibus  XIII.  et  ibi  baptizavi  circa  centum  personas 
in  diversis  locis  et  socius  fuit  mese  vitse  frater  Nicolaus  de  Pistorio  de 
ordine  fratrum  prsedicatorum." 

I.  (Chap.  I.  p.  41) 

"  Hi  sunt  qui  nos  accusant,  nos  percutiunt,  nos  in  carcerem  poni 
faciunt  et  lapidant ;  sicut  de  facto  probavi  et  quater  per  eos  (sc. 
Sarracenos)  incarceratus  fui.  Quotiens  autem  depilatus,  verberatus,  et 
lapidatus,  Deus  ipse  novit,  et  ego,  qui  sustinui  (peccatis  meis  exi- 
gentibus)  eo  quod  nondum  potui  vitam  pro  fide  sustinendo  martyrium 
finire  sicut  fecerunt  quatuor  socii  mei.  De  ctetero,  de  me  fiat  voluntas 
Dei.  Quinque  etiam  Praedicatores  et  quatuor  Minores  fuerunt  illuc, 
meo  tempore,  pro  fide  catholica  crudeliter  trucidati.  V^e  mihi,  quod 
non  fui  una  cum  eis  ibi." 

The  names,  too,  and  frontiers  and  relative  conditions  of  dependency 
amongst  these  little  states  have  been  altered  and  cannot  be  ascertained. 
The  names  we  have  quoted  in  the  text  are  those  which  recur  most 
frequently  in  history,  although,  strangely  enough,  most  of  them  are 
omitted  from  the  long  official  list  of  principalities.  Cf.  Germann, 
p.  588. 

J.  (Chap.  I.  p.  44) 

As  early  as  1453  King  Alfonso  v.  of  Portugal  had  conferred  on  the 
Order  of  Christ  the  Jierisdicfio  spiritualis  over  all  territories  from  Cape 
"  Bojador  usque  ad  Indos,  qui  Christi  nomen  colere  dicuntur,"  and  this 
action  had  been  expressly  confirmed  by  Pope  Nicolas  v.  in   1454,  by 


442  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 

his  successor,  Calixtus  iii.,  in  1455,  and  by  others.  Now  after  1522 
the  King  of  Portugal  was  also  Grand  Master  of  the  Order  of  Christ,  and 
to  him  therefore  belonged,  according  to  these  Bulls,  rights  of  patronage 
over  all  India. 

K.  (Chap.  II.  p.  96) 

There  is  abundance  of  literature  concerning  this  all-important  epoch. 
Some  of  the  most  valuable  portions  of  it  are  Dr.  W.  Germann's  large 
biographies  of  the  old  Danish  missionaries :  Johajin  Philipp  Fabricius, 
1865;  Ziegetibalg  unci  Pliitschau,  in  two  sections,  1868;  Christian 
Friedrich  Schwartz,  1870.  There  are  also  appreciative  sketches  of  these 
honoured  veterans  in  the  Evang.  Missionary  Magazine  for  1868.  Other 
works  are  Fenger's  History  of  the  Tranquebar  Mission  (in  Danish), 
and  Rev.  A.  Westcott,  Our  Oldest  Mission  {Madras — described  from 
an  Anglican  sta?idpoint). 

L.  (Chap.  II.  p.  107) 

Ziegenbalg's  other  writings  are  :  Bibliotheca  Malabarica,  an  index  of 
150  works  belonging  to  Tamil  literature;  ■d.wA  Die  ausfi'ihrliche  Beschrei- 
bung  des  jnalaburischen  Heide?itunis.  In  the  eighteenth  century  all 
South  Indians  were  erroneously  termed  Malabarese,  as  were  also  the 
Tamils. 

M.  (Chap.  III.  p.  151) 

It  used  to  be  supposed  that  this  strong  language  was  quoted  from 
an  ofificial  resolution  of  the  Company.  It  was  Henry  Morris  who,  with 
praiseworthy  diligence,  proved  (in  the  London  Christian)  that  the  words 
were  actually  spoken  at  an  assembly  of  the  General  Court  held  at  the 
East  India  House  on  May  23rd,  1793,  in  connection  with  the  Charter 
negotiations  (cf.  Free  Church  Record,  1903,  p.  508). 


N.  (Chap.  VII.  p.  408) 

How  is  this  difference  of  figures  to  be  accounted  for?  To  answer 
this  question  we  shall  be  obliged  to  go  into  some  detail  and  to  consider 
the  missionary  provinces  of  India  one  by  one.  We  may  at  the  same 
time  use  the  opportunity  for  giving  as  accurate  a  survey  as  possible  of 
the  distribution  of  evangelical  Christendom  throughout  the  whole  of  the 
Indian  mission  field  : — 


APPENDIX 


443 


Table  A 


Decennial  Missionary 
Conference  Statistics. 

Government  Census.  1 

Dr. 

Grunde- 
mann.^ 

(1890). 

1900. 

(1890). 

1900. 

1S98. 

Assam 

(I5>27S) 

20,939 

(9,581) 

29,343 

36,109 

Bengal 

(108,901) 

123,609 

(62,798) 

133,447 

123,749 

United  Provinces 

(30,321) 

108,990 

(18,777) 

60,716 

90,835 

Punjab  2      .         .         . 

(20,729) 

36,584 

(14,419) 

20,385 

34,282 

Rajputana  . 

(1,683) 

3,972 

(1,127) 

2,525 

2,132 

Bombay  (with  Baroda) 

(22,455) 

30,649 

(5,343) 

40,838 

23,272 

Central  India  *    . 

(9,660) 

23,380 

(1,381) 

16,749 

7,394 

Madras  Presidency  ^     . 

(365-912) 

506,019 

(348,979)" 

522,009 

447,874 

(559,661) 

854,867 

(462,403) 

826,012 

776,562 

(566,154) 

(825,466) 

^  These  two  columns  must  be  used  with  caution  :  they  omit  the  minor  denomina- 
tions ;  and  although  these,  when  taken  incidentally,  may  represent  nothing  but 
insignificant  stations,  yet  over  100,000  souls  are  lacking  in  the  sum  total  (1890) 
without  our  being  able  to  find  out  what  has  become  of  them.  The  more  exact 
totals  of  the  census  tables  are  therefore  placed  at  the  foot  of  the  table  in  brackets. 

^  Dr.  Grundemann  arranges  his  figures  according  to  a  different  geographical 
system  ;  his  headings  do  not  always  precisely  tally  with  those  taken  above. 

^  The  Punjab,  with  the  frontier  provinces. 

*  Central  India,  Central  Provinces,  Berar,  and  Hyderabad. 

®  Madras,  Mysore,  Cochin,  and  Travancore. 

®  Here  we  have  supplemented  the  number  of  Protestant  Christians  by  72,635  (a 
number  arrived  at  by  means  of  the  Decennial  Tables)  for  the  two  states  of  Travancore 
and  Cochin,  which  are  omitted  in  those  Governmental  Returns  to  which  we  have 
access. 


As  will  be  seen,  the  difference  is  considerable.  Whereas  in  one 
group  of  figures  the  Government  Census  records  44,421  Protestant 
Christians  more  than  the  Missionary  Tables,  in  other  districts  it  gives 
72,549  more;  thus  whilst  the  totals  seem  to  present  a  difference  of 
only  28,155,  in  reality  that  difference  is  1 16,970,  or  more  than  one-eighth 
of  the  entire  sum  total.  Only  in  the  detailed  history  of  the  various 
districts  can  we  examine  these  diverging  figures  and,  partially  at  any 
rate,  explain  them.  We  must,  however,  rest  content  with  the  assertion 
that  absolutely  reliable  figures  concerning  the  sum  total  of  Protestant 
Christians  in  India  are  unobtainable.     We  should  not  even  be  able  to 


444 


HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 


ascertain  it  by  limiting  ourselves  to  the  numbers  of  communicants,  since 
in  that  case  we  should  lose  the  assistance  furnished  by  the  census 
returns ;  and  further,  the  word  "  communicant "  bears  a  very  different 
meaning  among,  for  example,  the  Episcopal  Methodists  in  the  United 
Provinces  and  the  agents  of  the  American  Board  in  the  Madura 
district. 

The  members  of  Protestant  mission  churches,  however,  compose 
only  the  lesser  section  of  Indian  Christendom.  This  latter  numbers, 
according  to  the  Government  Census  of  1901,  2,923,241  souls,  or 
about  I  per  cent.  (0*99  per  cent.)  of  the  entire  population  of  India.  It 
is  distributed  over  the  various  provinces  as  follows  (for  the  sake  of 
comparison,  we  give  the  corresponding  census  figures  for  1881  and 
1 89 1,  and  also  the  number  of  Protestant  Christians) : — 

Table  B 


1S81. 

1891. 

1901. 

Of  these,  the 
Government 

Census  for 
1 90 1  gives  as 

Protestant 
Christians — 

Assam  .... 

7,093 

16,844 

35,969 

29,343 

Bengal  .... 

128,135 

192,484 

278,366 

133,447 

United  Provinces  . 

47,673 

58,518 

102,955 

60,716 

Punjab    and    Frontier^ 
Provinces  .         .        j 

33,699 

57,135 

76,312 

20,385 

Rajputana      . 

3,519 

4,548 

6,552 

.         2,525 

Bombay  Presidency 

145,925 

170,655 

227,778 

40,838 

Central  India 

20,373 

20,666 

36,080 

16,749 

Madras  Presidency 

1,391,998 

1,642,618 

2,011,404 

522,009 

Burma  .... 

84,219 

111,982 

133,619 

80,224 

This  body  of  Christians,  apart  from  the  members  of  Protestant 
mission  churches,  is  made  up  of  English  people  and  Eurasians,  of  the 
members  of  Roman  Catholic  mission  churches,  and  of  the  Syrian 
Church  in  Travancore.  We  give  the  figures  of  each  community  in 
parallel  columns  for  purposes  of  comparison  : — 


APPENDIX 


445 


Table  C 


There  live  in— 

Beside  Pro- 
testant Chris- 
tians to  the 
number  of— 

Other 

Christians 

to  the 

number  of— 

Of  whom  the 

Europeans 

are  as 

under — 

And  the 
Eurasians — 

Assam  .... 

29,343 

6,626 

2,099 

275 

Bengal  .... 

133,487 

144,919 

27,489 

20,893 

United  Provinces  . 

60,716 

42,239 

14,773 

13,151 

Punjab    and    P'rontier"^ 
Provinces  .          .        / 

20,385 

55,927 

34,527 

5,377 

Rajputana      . 

2,525 

4,027 

1,928 

S44 

Bombay  Presidency 

40,838 

186,940 

31,970 

6,946 

Central  India 

16,749 

59,076 

13,420 

6,469 

Madras  Presidency 

522,009 

1,463,018 

18,369 

35,549 

Burma  .... 

Total  for  British  India\ 
(excluding  Ceylon)    J 

80,224 

53,395 

9,885 

8,449 

825,466 

2,016,167 

169,677 

87,030 

In  this  connection,  we  may  add:  (i)  that  these  figures  are  taken 
from  the  Government  Census  returns  for  1901,  and  are  therefore  to 
be  accepted  as  possessing  only  the  relative  reliability  of  that  census ; 
(2)  that  they  are  limited  to  British  India,  its  protected  states  and 
annexes.  The  small  French  and  Spanish  colonies  can  point  to  large 
numbers  of  Roman  Catholic  Christians,  but  without  exception  they 
lie  outside  the  sphere  of  Protestant  missions,  and  occupy,  therefore,  no 
place  in  the  statistics  of  such  missions. 

It  is  interesting  to  compare  the  sum  totals  of  the  results  of  Pro- 
testant missions  from  the  point  of  view  of  the  principal  home 
churches  which  send  out  missionaries.  We  may  classify  these  as 
Anglicans,  Presbyterians,  Baptists,  Methodists,  Congregationalists, 
Lutherans  (German,  Scandinavian,  and  American  Lutherans),  and  lesser 
denominations.  As  basis  of  the  following  table  we  have  taken  not 
the  figures  given  in  the  Government  Census,  but  those  found  in  the 
Decennial  Missionary  Conference  Statistics  : — 


446 


HISTORY  OF  INDIAN  MISSIONS 


Table  D 


^ 

Province. 

p 

Ofwh 

om  there  are — 

Til 
c 

< 

1 

1 

0 

ll 

1 

.  3 

c 
.2 

c 
Q 

Assam  . 

20,939 

2,225 

39 

9,972 

8,703 

... 

... 

Bengal 

123,609 

32,762 

5,477 

19,716 

3,775 

2,243 

47,278 

12,933 

United  Provinces  . 

108,990 

6,007 

3,98s 

438 

97,725 

762 

-70 

Punjab 

36,584 

9,921 

22,242 

1,585 

2,064 

171 

1,630 

Rajputana     . 

3,972 

168 

1,444 

2,360 

Bombay 

30,649 

7,426 

4,993 

5,737 

8,925 

7,649 

1,654 

Central  India 

23,380 

3,446 

4,188 

495 

8,289 

... 

4,291 

2,871 

Madras  Presidency 

506,019 

154,567 

14,444 

177,726 

9,525 

96,048 

48,539 

"320 

Burma  . 

Total     . 

124,069 

9,385 

113,787 

618 

279 

978,936 

225,907 

57,315 

323,719 

138,796 

107,978 

108,207 

19,478 

Thus  the  Baptists  are,  numerically  speaking,  by  far  the  strongest 
group,  with  324,000,  and  that  mainly  because  of  their  two  dense 
masses  of  adherents  in  the  Nellore  district  and  in  Burma.  The  second 
strongest  group  are  the  Anglicans  with  226,000;  then  follow  in  de- 
scending order  the  Methodists,  with  139,000,  and  the  Lutherans  and 
Congregationalists  with  108,000  each;  then,  but  only  after  a  great  gap, 
come  the  Presbyterians  with  57,000.  The  lesser  denominations — not 
connected  with  these  larger  groups,  or  dependent  upon  them,  as  the 
case  may  be — stand  for  what  is  only  an  unimportant  numerical  success. 
Amongst  these  lesser  groups,  whose  lines  of  demarcation  are  often 
hazy,  we  have  reckoned  the  following  : — 

The  American  Women's  Union  Missionary  Society  with 

The  Gopalganj  Bengal  Evangelical  Mission  .  ,, 

The  Indian  Home  Mission  .  .         .         .         .  ,,    i 

The  Bethel  Santal  Mission 

The   Christian  Women's  Mission  in   the   North- 

West  Province  .         .         .         .         .         ,  ,, 

The  Salvation  Army  1 ,, 

The  Dunker  Baptists  in  Gujarat    .         .         .         .  ,, 

The  Christian  Alliance  Mission     .         .         .         .  ,, 
^  But  of.  p.  449. 


150  Chr 

stian  adher 

250 
1,030 
1,503 

"               " 

75 

1,630 

102 

1,629 

" 

APPENDIX 


447 


The  Kurku  and  Central  Indian  Hill  Tribes  Mission    .  wilh    57  Christian  adherents. 

The  Poona  and  Indian  Village  Mission        .         .         .  ,,  50 

The  Indigenous  Mission,  Ahmadnagar        .         .         .  ,,  327 

The  Pentecostal  Mission ,,  100 

The  Friends'  (Quaker)  Mission           .         .         .         .  ,,  1950 

The  American  Mennonite  Mission      .         .         ,         .  ,,  150 

The  Balaghat  Mission 160 

The  KoUegal  Mission „  129 

Ceylon  and  South  India  General  Mission  .         .         .  ,,  191 

and  many  small  and  even  tiny  missions,  which  do  not  even   find   a 
place  in  the  Decennial  Missionary  Conference  Statistics. ^ 

But  our  joy  on  reading  these  figures,  which  have  only  been  com- 
piled as  a  result  of  laborious  calculation,  is  damped  when  we  look  at 
Table  IV  in  the  Government  Census  (1901,  p.  399).  In  spite  of 
many  obvious  errors,  this  table  is  too  important,  and  we  are  too 
frequently  obliged  to  fall  back  upon  it,  to  leave  it  out  here. 

Table  E 


^ 

Of  whom  there  are — 

Province. 

IS 

"0  « 

p 

C 

"So 
c 

i 

.2 

0 

Si's 

Assam 

29,343 

1,840 

i6,oSo 

9,969 

4 

27 

1,423 

Bengal 

133,447 

35>599 

3,663 

20,307 

2,566 

1,918 

69,394 

United  Provinces 

60,716 

7,100 

2,179 

243 

50,629 

500 

65 

Punjab  and  Frontier) 
States    .         .        / 

20,385 

15,218 

4,151 

466 

550 

... 

Rajputana 

2,525 

138 

557 

45 

269 

... 

Bombay  Presidency  . 

40,83s 

22,399 

4,944 

28 

3,606 

9,019 

782 

Central  India    . 

16,749 

5,072 

2,230 

1,296 

3,579 

286 

3.986 

Madras  Presidency    . 

522,009 

284,911 

8,550 

118,911 

6,247 

25,572 

77,806 

Burma 

For    the   whole    of\ 
India,  plus  Burma  j 

80,224 

13,432 

16 

65,755 

798 

223 

825,466 

305,917 

43,064 

216,915 

68,489 

37,322 

153,768 

1 

*  As  we  have  no  more  recent  statistical  tables  for  the  whole  of  India  than  those  of 
the  years  1900- 1901,  the  figures  for  these  small  missions  have  been  taken  from  those 
tables.  Were  we  to  make  use  of  newer  statistics,  we  should  have  no  possible  means 
of  general  comparison. 


448  HISTORY  OF  INDIAN   MISSIONS 

We  will  now  compare  the  main  items  on  this  table  with  the  corre- 
sponding ones  taken  from  the  Decennial  Statistics  on  the  previous 
page. 

Assam. — In  Table  D  the  Welsh  Calvinists  are  included  with  the 
Methodists ;  in  Table  E,  at  their  own  desire,  with  the  Presbyterians. 
Table  D  overlooks  the  Assamese  branch  of  the  Gossner  Mission, 
whilst  Table  E  includes  1423  Lutherans  belonging  thereto.  Whereas 
in  every  other  case  Table  D  includes  in  the  Christian  community 
candidates  for  baptism  and  adherents,  by  some  mistake  the  entries  for 
Chota  Nagpur  only  take  account  of  baptized  converts  ;  the  numbers 
in  Table  E,  therefore,  come  nearer  the  truth. 

United  Provinces. — The  most  remarkable  and  most  perplexing 
difference  between  the  two  tables  concerns  the  number  of  Methodists 
in  this  district — which  is  given  in  Table  D  as  97,725  and  in  Table  E 
as  only  50,629,  a  difference  of  more  than  47,000  Christians.  Even 
the  census-taker  was  struck  by  this  difference,  and  he  explains  it  by 
saying  that  a  large  number  of  relapses  to  heathenism  had  taken  place, 
and  that  more  than  one-third  of  those  given  as  Christians  in  the 
missionary  statistics  had  declared  themselves  to  be  heathen.  But  this 
explanation  is  highly  improbable. 

Punjab. — The  number  of  the  Presbyterians  in  Table  E  (41 51)  is 
clearly  far  too  small,  and  the  number  in  Table  D  (22,242)  will  come 
near  the  truth. 

Bombay. — The  number  of  Anglicans  (22,399)  is  much  too  high; 
it  is  easily  accounted  for  by  the  fact  that  6991  Anglicans  are  entered 
at  Baroda,  a  place  where  the  Anglicans  have  no  work  at  all  worth 
mentioning. 

Madras  Presidency. — The  Anglicans  are  again  credited  with  far  too 
large  a  number  in  Table  E — 284,911  ;  in  Table  D  the  number  given 
is  154,567.  The  error  is  partly  accounted  for  by  the  fact  that  for 
Travancore  78,217  Anglicans  are  enrolled  and  only  10  Congregational- 
ists  ;  whereas  35,515  Anglicans  and  63,152  Congregationalists  have  been 
counted  in  the  calculations  upon  which  Table  D  is  based.  There  exists 
apparently  a  tendency  amongst  the  census  officials  in  South  India,  and 
perhaps  also  amongst  the  Christians  themselves,  to  reckon  as  many  as 
possible  the  adherents  of  the  State  Church  of  India.  The  figures  for 
the  Baptists  in  Madras  and  Burma  are  likewise  confusing :  in  Table  D 
they  are  given  as  177,776  and  113,787  respectively,  as  against  118,911 
and  65,755  in  Table  E.  In  the  basal  calculations  for  Table  D  only 
71,392  and  37,927  are  mentioned.  In  the  introductory  remarks  to  the 
Decennial  Statistics  (p.  1 1 1)  it  is  pointed  out  that  these  numbers  include 
communicants  only,  and  in  the  sum  totals  they  have  been  tripled, 
following  the  customary  method  of  calculating  probability  in  India, 
which,  strangely  enough,  only  works  out  in  the  Madras  Presidency  to 
the  figures  for  the  Nellore  district  and  leaves  out  those  for  the  out- 
districts  of  the  Telugu  Mission.  Thus  the  numbers  given  in  Table 
D  are  rather  arbitrary.  The  Annual  Report  of  the  American  Baptist 
Missionary  Society  for  the  year  ending  December  31st,  1900,  gives  for 
the   Madras  Presidency  120,553  Christians,  and  for  Burma  118,959. 


APPENDIX  449 

Thus  the  first  total  agrees  fairly  exactly  with  that  given  in  Table  E,  and 
we  must  perforce  conclude  that  the  number  recorded  in  Table  D 
(177,726)  has  been  overestimated  by  57,000  !  On  the  other  hand,  the 
total  for  Burma  in  Table  E  (65,755)  is  at  least  50,000  short!  It  is 
discouraging  to  find  that  what  are,  relatively,  the  most  reliable  statistics 
at  our  disposal,  do  not  help  to  account  for  such  great  differences. 
Table  D  reckons  96,048  Congregationalists  in  Madras,  Table  E  only 
25,572;  the  latter  number  is  incorrect.  The  leading  missionaries  of 
this  section  instructed  the  members  of  their  flock  to  return  themselves 
simply  as  Christians,  without  making  use  of  any  particular  or  denomina- 
tional nomenclature ;  many  thousands  of  Congregationalists,  therefore, 
are  to  be  found  among  the  101,926  classed  as  "denomination  not 
returned."  On  the  other  hand,  when  Table  D  only  returns  48,539 
Lutherans,  as  against  77,806  in  Table  E,  it  is  the  latter  which  is  correct. 
In  the  basal  statistics  for  Table  D  the  General  Council  Mission  of  the 
American  Lutherans,  for  instance,  with  its  6159  baptized  adherents,  or 
a  Christian  community  of  some  10,000  {vide  Report,  1900),  is  over- 
looked ;  and  in  the  south  the  adherents  of  the  Leipzig,  Danish,  and 
Missouri  Societies  are  given  as  only  about  19,000,  whereas,  as  a  matter  of 
fact,  those  of  the  Leipzig  Society  alone  (December  1900)  number  20,819. 
After  these  criticisms  it  will  not  excite  surprise  that  the  totals  given, 
especially  those  in  Table  E,  attain  no  very  high  degree  of  probability. 
The  Anglican  figures  are  far  too  high,  whilst  those  for  the  Baptists, 
Presbyterians,  Congregationalists,  and  Methodists  are  far  too  low.  Only 
in  the  case  of  the  Lutherans  are  the  sum  totals  arrived  at  in  Table  E 
to  be  preferred  to  those  of  Table  D. 

We  neglected  to  enumerate  in  Table  E  those  classified  in  the 
Census  returns  as:  indefinite  beliefs,  1334;  denomination  not 
returned,  101,920;  minor  denominations,  21,815;  Salvation  Army, 
18,847;  3,nd  Quakers,  1275 — 3,  total  of  143,857.  For  the  Salvation 
Army  the  Missionary  Statistics  give  a  total  for  the  Punjab  only  of 
1630;  we  read,  however,  in  the  Census  Report  (p.  391,  §  682)  that  the 
Salvation  Army  in  the  Kaira  district  (Bombay)  has  some  11,000 
adherents,  and  in  Travancore  {Intelligencer^  1902,  p.  748)  5290. 
The  Census  Report  would  thus  appear  to  be  correct.  A  remarkable 
conglomeration  appears  under  the  Census  heading,  "  Lesser  Denomina- 
tions "  (amongst  the  21,815  here  set  down,  some  10,321  are  of  the 
"  London  Mission "  and  ought  therefore  to  be  numbered  among  the 
Congregationalists).  In  this  list  we  find  "  Christians,"  "  Converted 
Hindus,"  Dent  (or  Kent?)  Christians,  the  Church  of  Christ  (Weinbren- 
nerians  at  Calcutta),  the  Disciples  of  Christ  (at  Chhattisgarh,  Central 
India),  the  Union  Brothers  (3482  are  returned),  the  Evangelists  (1966 
returned),  "  Undenominational,"  "  Unsectarian,"  "  Nonconformists," 
Dissenters,  Plymouth  Brethren,  Adventists,  Second  Adventists,  the 
Milton  Church,  the  New  Jerusalem  Church,  the  National  Church, 
the  Pollelin  Mission,  the  Praetorian  Mission,  "  Others  "  Mission,  Gospel 
Mission,  Kabul  Mission,  United  Service  Mission,  etc. — a  sad  illustration 
of  the  way  in  which  the  Missionary  Church  of  India  is  rent  asunder  by 
the  ever-increasing  number  of  "  Free  "  missions. 
29 


INDEX 


xVaron,  in,  112. 

Abbanes,  27.     ^ 

Abbott,  Dr.,  239. 

Abd  al  Malik,  36. 

Abdul  Masih,  157,  160,  427. 

Abeel,  Rev.  D.,  336. 

Abhyapananda  Swami,  387. 

Aborigines,  work  among,  2 1 4,  415. 

Abors,  226. 

Abu  Mt.,  392. 

Abyssinians,  35. 

"Accommodation"  policy,  69,  75. 

Acosta,  52. 

Acts  of  Thomas,  27. 

Adams,  Rev.  — ,  368,  369. 

Adams,  Miss,  358,  361. 

Adam's  House,  42. 

Adam's  Peak,  42. 

Adiabene,  35. 

Adi  Samaj,  370. 

Adyar,  385. 

Agarpara,  335. 

Agra,  74,  141,  145,  147,  153,  206,  212, 

320,  353- 
Agricultural  Society  of  Bengal,  136. 
Ahmadnagar,  200,  229,  233,  240,  296, 

413- 
Airthrey,  144. 
Aix  la  Chapelle,  98. 
Ajlaf,  15. 

Ajmer,  212,  213,  348,  393,  413. 
Ajodhya,  175,  269,  350. 
Akbar,  73,  193. 
Alangate,  84. 
Aleppey,  76. 

Alexander  (C.M.S.),  Rev.  — ,  293. 
Alexander  a  Campo,  85,  86. 
Alexio  de  Menezes,  45,  81,  85,  214. 
Alfonso  da  Suza,  48. 
Alfred,  King,  36. 
Aligarh,  240,  402. 
Ali,  Jani,  184,  427. 
Allahabad,    I  So,    186,    200,   209,   212, 

213,  227,  27s,  320,  326. 
Almora,  227,  319,  320,  356,  357,  362, 

363.  387. 
Alwar,  213. 


Amalapuram,  224. 

Amarkantak,  198. 

Amarwara,  216. 

Ambala,  200,  352,  356,  357. 

Ambalacada,  87. 

Amboyna,  46. 

Ambur,  222. 

American  Adventists,  226. 

American  and   Scandinavian  Alliance, 

225. 
American   Baptist    Missionary    Union, 

149,  161,  199,  216,  219,  229,  233, 

303. 
American   Board,   146,  148,   149,   161, 

170,  171,  199,  200,  201,  229,  233, 

240,  283,  284,  313,  314,  31S,  425, 

429,  436. 
American  Brethren  in  Christ,  226. 
American  Lutherans,  219. 
American  Presbyterian  Mission  Board, 

199,  204,  213,  352,  426,  432.     • 
American    United    Presbyterians,    213, 

.320,  352. 
Amir  Ali,  401, 
Amir  Singh,  99,  120. 
Ammann,  Rev.  — ,  283. 
Amritsar,  194,  211,  220,  296,  319,  350, 

35i>  354,  434- 
Amroha,  212. 
Anabaptists,  138. 
Anandapur,  196. 
xVnderson,    Rev.    John   A.,    161,    170, 

183,  195- 
Anderson,   Rev.    Rufus   A.,    170,  283, 

298,  313,  418,  421,  428,  429. 
Andrew,  Rev.  A.,  322. 
Angamale,  So,  81,  82. 
Angelus  Franciscus,  89. 
Anglican    Episcopate,     the,     273-280, 

422,  434- 
Animism,  17,  241-249,  253. 
Anjuvannam,  34. 
Annfield,  411. 
"Anti-Christian,"  the,  390. 
Antioch,  30,  31. 
Aquaviva,  R.,  74. 
Arabic,  14S. 


452 


INDEX 


Arachosia,  28. 

Arajers,  214. 

Arakan,  58. 

Arati  rite,  374. 

Arcot,  Nawab  of,  98-100,  116,  118. 

Arcot,  North,  66,  68,  99,  199. 

Arcot,  South,  66,  68,  99,  226. 

Armour,  Rev.  — ,  291. 

Arni,  199. 

Arthington,  R..  226,  239. 

Arulappen,  225. 

Aryans,  ID,  12. 

Arya  Samaj,  323,  392-396. 

Arzal,  16. 

Asaf,  98. 

Asansol,  212. 

Ashapura,  213. 

Ashraf,  15,  16. 

Assam,  5,  15,  141,   199,  216,  226,  244. 

Assamese,  9,  11. 

Assam  Frontier  Pioneer  Mission,  226. 

Asur,  250. 

Atalla,  83,  84. 

Athelstan,  36. 

Atmaya  Sabha,  368. 

Atteridge,  Father,  71. 

Augustinians,  58,  74,  92. 

Aur,  68. 

Aurungzebe,  16,  74. 

Aveling,  390. 

Avicenna,  176. 

Avidhya,  266,  267,  270. 

Azamgarh,  157. 

Baba  Laikhan,  359. 

Babylon,  Patriarch  of,  83. 

Bachelor,  Dr.  O.,  347- 

Bacon,  Rev.  J.  R.,  293. 

Badagas,  14,  50,  196,  302. 

Badinath  Roy,  Rajah,  335,  338. 

Baesdehi,  216,  224. 

Bagdad,  30. 

Baghars,  Tekk,  30. 

Baghars,  Wadakk,  30. 

Baghelkhandi,  302. 

Bahrwal-Atari,  284. 

Baidyanath,  358,  361. 

Baihair,  226. 

Bailey,  31. 

Bailey,  Rev.  B.,  292. 

Bailey,  Wellesley,  358-365. 

Bairagi,  25,  388. 

Baker,  Rev.  H.,  214,  292. 

Balabhadra,  246. 

Balaghat,  226. 

Balasore,  I,  200. 

Balshikahaks,  301. 

Baluchistan,  i,  5,  6. 

Bandarulanka,  224. 

Banerjea,  184,  337,  377,  414,  427- 

Banerjea,  K.  C,  433. 


Bangalore,    155,    160,    171,    174,   212, 

226,  350,  383,  426. 
Banka,  224. 

Bankura,  212,  225,  320,  455. 
Bannu,  351. 
Baptism,  271. 
Baptist    Missionary  Society,   131,   141, 

142,  153,  201,  204,  283,  313,  318, 

333.  425- 
Baptist  Missionary  Society — 

American  Free  Will,  200. 

Danish  American,  222. 

English  Particular,  200. 

of  New  South  Wales,  222. 

of  New  Zealand,  222. 

of  Queensland,  222. 

of  S.  Australia,  222. 

of  Tasmania,  222. 

of  Victoria,  222. 
Barabanki,  211. 
Baragur,  222. 
Baranula,  46. 
Barchen,  41. 
Bardez,  71. 
Bareilly,  211. 
Barisal,  141,  153,  229. 
Barlow,  Gov. -Gen.,  185. 
Baroda,  212,  392. 
Barrackpore,  205,  212. 
"  Barrack  "  system,  409,  414. 
Barrows,  Dr.  J.  H.,  324. 
Bartholomew,  Apostle,  28,  29. 
Baru,  291. 
Basappa,  21. 
Basharatpur,  411. 
Basilius,  Shekerallah,  89, 
Basim,  224. 
Basle,  159. 
Basle   Miss.   Magazine,  57,   186,    187, 

207,  250. 
Basle    Miss.    Society,    173,    196, 
201,  212,  283,  299,   312,  322, 
411,  417,  426. 
Bassein,  45,  57,  71,  80,  92,  199. 
Batala,  284. 

Bateman,  Rev.  R.,  251,  284. 
Battalagundu,  199. 
Batumah,  36. 
Bawa,  J.,  361,  362. 
Beawar,  213,  348. 
Beer,  C.  H.,  224. 
Belgaum,  155,  225. 
Bellarmine,  59. 
Bellary,  149,  155,  212,  320. 
Benares,  23,    141,   147,   153,    155, 
158,  175,  176,  212,  269,  350, 
Benedict  xiii.,  70. 
Benedict  xiv.,  70. 
Benfey,  285. 

Bengal,  12,  15,  129,  148,  153,  193, 
219,  355- 


197, 
349, 


157. 


218, 


INDEX 


453 


Bengali,  9,  11,  136,  139,  140,  302. 

Bengali,  Mussulmani,  401. 

Bendnck,    Lord   W.,     179,    182,    183, 

185,  188,  189,  191,  242. 
Bento,  130. 
Beracha  Home,  224. 
Berar,  223,  226. 
Berhampur,  154,  217. 
Berlin,  159. 

Berlin  Missionary  Society,  198. 
Beschi,  68,  107,  in,  113,  287. 
Bethany,  216. 
Bethel,  216. 
Bethesda,  216. 
Bethlehem,  216. 
Bethul,  216. 
Bethune,  D.,  338, 
Bethune  College,  338,  376. 
Betigeri,  196,  229,  349. 
Betschler,  347. 
Bezwada,  195,  218. 
Bhagalpur,  215,  251,  302. 
Bhagavad  Gita,  44,  265,  384,  399. 
Bhajans,  284. 
Bhaktimarga,  25,  43,  250. 
Bhandara,  349. 
Bhaskara,  Ravi  Varma,  34. 
Bhartpur,  227. 
Bhatgaon,  73. 
Bhatniri,  302. 
Bhils,  238,  247. 
Bhopal,  358. 
Bhowanipur,  154,  419. 
Bhuinhars,  12. 
Bhuts,  246. 

"Bible  Cutter,"  the,  391. 
Bible  Societies,  Auxiliary,  294. 
Bible  Translation,   107,  113,  114,  139, 

140,  163,  287-294. 
Bickersteth,  Bp.,  217, 
Bie,  134. 

Bihar,  5,  12,  153,  212,  218,  225. 
Bihari,  9,  II. 
Bijapur,  57,  72. 
Bijnor,  211. 
Bikaniri,  302. 
Bilaspur,  222. 
Billawas,  416. 
Bimlipatam,  73,  214. 
Birbhum,  153,  355. 
Bird,  224. 

Bird,  Miss  (Mrs.  Bishop),  339,  352. 
Biru,  229. 
Bisrampur,  213. 

Blackett,  Rev.  W.  B.,  309,  424. 
Blavatsky,  Madame,  378-385.  389,  390. 
Blue  Mts.,  196,  214. 
Boalia,  213. 
Bobadilla,  N.,  46. 
Boer  War,  238. 
Bohme,  125. 


Bombay,  15,  74,  75,  94,  H^,  I57,  158, 
161,  180,  184,  195,  199,  212,  222, 
224,  226,  236,  397. 

Bommarasa,  116. 

Bond,  362. 

"Borderers,"  324,  329,  407. 

Bornemann,  103. 

Borresen,  H.  P.,  215,  303. 

Bose,  M.  N.,  226,  427. 

Bose,  Dr.  A.  M.,  373. 

Bose,  Dr.  N.  K.,  398. 

Bose,  Pastor,  360. 

Bouchet,  68. 

Boughton,  Dr.,  346. 

Bourbon,  J.,  48. 

Bourdonnais,  La,  97,  98. 

Bovingh,  Rev.  J.  G.,  106,  no. 

Bowden,  E.  S.,  224. 

Bower,  Rev.  H.,  288. 

Bowley,  Rev.  — ,  290. 

Bradlaugh,  C,  382,  390. 

Brahma,  24,  263-272. 

Brahmans,  13-15,  19,  21,  54,  56,  57, 
60,  62,  64,  65,  69,  85,  87,  230, 
246,  251-255,  257,  260,  413. 

Brahmaputra,  2,  216. 

"Brahmavadin,"  399. 

Brahmaya  Sabha,  368. 

Brahmika  Samaj,  376. 

Brahmo  Samaj,  178,  250,  323,  33S, 
367-378,  385,  387,  393- 

Brahui,  7. 

Braidwood,  183. 

Brandonius,  52. 

Breithaupt,  Rev.  J.  C,  103. 

Britain,  Miss,  340. 

British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society,  156, 

293,  295- 
British    and   Foreign   School   Society, 

334- 
British  Rule  in  India,  241,  242. 
Brito,  E.  de,  83. 
Broach,  39,  40,  222. 
Brotherhood  of  Epiphany,  222. 
Brown,  Rev.  D.,  147. 
Brown,  Rev.  Dr.,  290. 
Brown,  Dr.  Edith,  353. 
Brunsdon,  134. 
Buchanan,    Rev.    C,    33,     147,    150, 

158. 
Buckingham  Canal,  218, 
Buckley,  Dr.,  290. 
Budain,  212. 

Budden,  Rev.  J.  H.,  356,  362. 
Buddha  Gaya  Maha  Bodhi  Sabha,  381, 

382. 
Buddhism,    Buddhists,  161,   245,  247, 

248,  253,  262,  366,  367,  379,  3S6. 
Buldana,  226. 
Bundelkhand,  218. 
Burdwan,  157. 


454 


INDEX 


Burma,   I,  6,   141,  144,  161,   199,  201, 

207,  244,  248,  274,  310. 
Burmese,  139. 
Burn,  291. 
Burnell,  Dr.,  32,  33. 
Bushanam,  184. 
Butler,  Dr.,  211. 
Buxar,  197. 

Cabral,  44. 

Cain,  293. 

Calcutta,  131,  136,  145,  149,  153,  154, 
156,  157,  161,  17s,  177,  17S,  180, 
184,  212,  222,  284,  313,  424. 

"Calcutta  School  Society,"  334. 

Caldwell,  Bp.,  246,  274,  302. 

Calicut,  28,  44,  76,  87,  196,  349. 

Cambridge  Alission,  222. 

Cambridge  Nicholson  Institution,  423, 

Camerte,  P.,  48,  54,  55. 

Campbell,  Rev.  D.  E.,  204. 

Campbellites,  222. 

Canadian  Baptist  Missionary  Societies, 

Canadian      Presbyterian       Missionary 

Society,  213. 
Cannanore,  196,  313. 
Canning,  Lord,  206,  209. 
Capucines,  69,  73,  75,  94. 
Caranja,  71,  198. 

Carey,    130,   131,    133-144,   mS,    i53, 
168,  177,  251,  269,  286,  288,  289, 
290,  291,  302,  356. 
Carleton,  Dr.,  352. 
Carmelites,  75,  84-SS. 
Carnatic,  66,  68,  99. 
Cartaret,  de,  227. 
Casamajor,  196. 
Caste,   19,  60,  67,   III,   166-173,  178, 

202,  247,  252,  255-262,  383. 
Cator,  Judge  P.,  329. 

Causali,  302. 

Cauvery,  68,  99,  loi,  120,  158,  194, 
426. 

Cawnpore,  147,  148,  204,221-223,  319. 

Celibacy,  82,  330. 

Ceylon,  I,  18,  32,  42,  53,  93,  102,  109, 
117,  160,  201,  212,  248. 

Ceylon  and  Indian  General  Mission, 
226. 

Chaitanya,  25,  249,  398. 

Chakai,  349. 

Chakarbutty,  184,  227,  414. 

Chamars,  416. 

Chamba,  195,  229,  352. 

Chamberlain,  Dr.,  293. 

Chambers,  Sir  R.,  146. 

Chambers,  W.,  146, 

Chanala,  244, 

Chand  Tara,  184. 

Chandag,  362. 


Chandal,  268. 

Chandernagore,  73,  134. 

Chandgad,  227. 

Chandkuri,  362. 

Chandran,  292. 

Chaplains,  Indian,  97,  129,  147,  148, 
157,  206. 

Chapra,  197. 

Charaka,  176. 

Charles  11.,  74. 

Chater,  Rev.  J.,  291. 

Chatterjea,  377,  414,  427. 

Chaupara,  213. 

Cheek,  Ensign,  205. 

Chet  Ram,  251,  367. 

Cherrapunji,  217. 

Cherumer  Malayalams,  14. 

Chhattisgarh,  222,  251. 

Chhindwara,  216. 

Chicacole,  73. 

Chidambaram,  23. 

Child  marriages,  330,  332,  370. 

Children's  Special  Service  Mission, 
328. 

Chingleput,  99,  1 15,  41 1. 

Chinsurah,  130,  134,  144,  145,  149, 
152,  154,  2S1,  334. 

Chinsurah  and  Hooghly  Zenana  Mis- 
sion, 225. 

Chiragh  Ali,  401. 

Chitral,  3,  6. 

Chittagong,  73,  141,  153. 

Chittapetta,  224. 

Chittoor,  100,  155. 

Chola  country,  the,  36,  99. 

Chota  Nagpur,  198,  207,  216,  222,  232, 
244,  251,  275,  415. 

"Christian  College,"  the,  183,  381. 

"Christian  Endeavour,"  328. 

Christian  Literature  Societies,  296,  297, 

305.. 

"Christian  Patriot,"  301. 

Christianpetta,  225. 

Christian  Realm  Mission,  227. 

"  Christian  Researches  in  Asia,"  147. 

Christo  Samaj,  434. 

Chunar,  157. 

Chunder  Sen,  223,  369-375. 

Churahs,  12-14,  4i6. 

"  Church  Council  System,"  430. 

Church  Missionary  Society,  148,  155, 
156,  158,  159,  160,  165,  194,  198, 
201,  206,  208,  210,  211,  216,  217, 
219,  225,  234,  238,  239,  277,  278, 
279,  280,  284,  325,  333,  341,  351, 
419,  421,  422,  423,  431,  432,  435. 

Church  of  England  Zenana  Missionary 
Society,  220,  2S0,  342,  343,  350. 

Clarkabad,  211. 

Clarke,  Rev.  A.  J.,  146. 

Clement  XL,  69,  70, 


INDEX 


455 


Clement  xii.,  70. 

Clement  xiv.,  88,  93. 

Clive,  129. 

Clough,  Rev.  J.  E.,2i8. 

Clough,  Rev.  B.,  291. 

Cochin,  4,  5,  19,  29,  35,  45.  57,  58. 
71.  74,  75,  76,  79,  80,  82,  85,  86, 
87,  88,  90,  91,  92,  93,  219,  274. 

Cockey,  Rev.  II.  E.,  204. 

Coconada,  214. 

Coimbatore,  28,  155,  197,  224,  226. 

Coimbra,  54. 

Colaba,  212,  361. 

Colebrooke,  137. 

Coles,  Rev.  S.,  292. 

CoUegal,  224. 

Colleges  of  India,  319,  320. 

Collegium  de  cursu,  etc.,  109. 

Colombo,  85,  365. 

"  Colonial  Church  Act,"  275. 

Comilla,  197. 

Comorin,  C.,  i,  42,  48,  53,  58. 

"Congregatio    de    propaganda    fide," 

75,  77- 
Congress,    Religious,     Chicago,     324, 

385. 
Conjeeveram,  186,  349. 
Constant,  Louis,  379. 
Constantine,  Emperor,  29. 
Cook,  Rev.  J.,  324. 
Cooke,  Miss,  334-336,  340. 
Coonoor,  226. 
Coorg,  7,  14,  196. 
Copenhagen,  162. 
Copleston,  Bp.,  278,  279. 
Cordes,  197,  285. 
Cornelius,  215,  224. 
Cornwallis,  Lord,  148. 
Coromandel,  36,  45,  loi. 
Corrie,  Bp.,  147,  157,  190. 
Cosmas  Indicopleustes,  31-33,  40. 
Costa,  J.  da,  130. 
Cottar,  37. 

Cottayam,  33,  320,  423. 
Cotton,  Bp.,  324. 
Cotton,  Sir  A.,  217. 
Coulomb,  Madame,  381. 
"Courts  of  Arbitration,"  229. 
Covilhas,  P.  de,  44. 
Cowley  Fathers,  222. 
Cran,  Rev.  G.,  145. 
Craufurd,  132. 
Crefeld,  95. 
Cuddalore,  75,  96,   98,   112,   1 13,  1 16, 

125,  129,  213. 
Cuddapah,  155,  219. 
Cufic,  33,  34. 
Cust,  R.,  210. 
Custodius,  87. 
Cutch,  13. 
Cutchi,  302. 


Cuttack,  251. 
Cyncilim,  41. 

Dacca,  141,  197,  251. 

Daivam,  270. 

Dal,  no.  III, 

Dalhousie,  Lord,  202,  337. 

Daman,  57,  93,  96. 

Damtari,  226. 

Danish  Mission,  the,  96-127,  161,  169, 

.333-  . 
Danish  Missionary  Society,  173,  213. 
Darbhanga,  197. 
Darbyites,  195,  224,  335. 
Dardistan,  3. 
Darjeeling,  213,  225,  376, 
Darsanas,  23,  263. 
Darwin,  391. 
Das,  Ganesa,  130. 
Dasseris,  68. 
Daud  Birsa,  251,  367. 
David,  169. 
Dawson,  302. 
Day,  L.  B.,  184,  427. 
Dayanand,  392-396. 
Dayanand  Anglo-Vedic  College,  396, 
Dease,  Dr.,  352. 
Deccan,  2. 

Decennial  Missionary  Tables,  407,  408. 
Deharis,  247. 

Dehra  Dun,  200,  320,  360. 
Delhi,  16,  74,  141,  153,  194,  204,  223, 

319,  343- 
Demetrius,  29. 
Demetrius  of  Tiflis,  39. 
Density  of  population,  5,  6. 
Deogarh,  358. 
Deoli,  213. 

Dera  Ghazi  Khan,  211,  351. 
Dera  Ismail  Khan,  211,  351,  352. 
Derajat,  211. 

Desgranges,  Rev.  A.,  145,  293. 
Deussen,  384,  391. 
Devajaga,  43. 
Devan,  270. 
"  Devil  dance,"  246. 
Dhanjibhai,  N.,  427. 
Dharamtola  St.,  154. 
Dhareyaygul,  37. 
Dharmsala,  360. 
Dharwar,  196,  250. 
Dhokal,  Parshad,  205. 
Dhond,  240. 
Diamond  Harbour,  212. 
Diamper,  Synod  of,  82,  85. 
Diego,  III. 
Diemer,  130, 
Dilger,  292,  304. 

Dinajpur,  133,  134,  141,  148,  149. 
Dindigul,  loo,  199,  296. 
"  Diocesan  Boards,"  228, 


456 


INDEX 


12,  214,  24S. 
302. 


"Disciples  of  Christ,"  222. 

Diu,  39,  45.  57,  58,  7i,  92,  93,  96. 

Divus,  29,  30. 

Doab,  16,  193,  218,  235. 

Dominicans,  38,  39,  44,  58,  71,  S3. 

Donate,  F.,  S3. 

Donelly,  379. 

Doremus,  Mrs.,  340. 

Dowlaishvaram,  224. 

Downes,  Dr.,  351. 

Drake,  Miss,  224. 

Dravidians,  6,  7,  S, 

Drose,  Rev.  — ,  215,  251 

Dualism,  263. 

Dublin  University  Mission,  222. 

Dubois,  69,  92-94. 

Duckworth,  Canon,  220. 

Dudhi,  217. 

Duff,  161,  168,  173-184,  195,  242,  286, 

296,  300,  307,  316,  337,  369,  377, 

413,  414- 
Dufferin,  Lady,  350,  357. 
Dum  Dum,  157,  212. 
Dummagudem,  217. 
Dundas,  150. 
Dupleix,  97,  98. 
Durga,  22,  23,  246. 
Dutch,  decay  of,  91. 
Dutch  Reformed   Church  of  America, 

200. 
Dutch,  Rise  of,  85. 
Dutt,  184,  377,  414. 
Dutt,  N.  N.,  387. 
Dwija,  15. 
Dyer,  Dr.,  143. 
Dyophisitism,  89. 

East  India  Company — 

Danish,  loi,  103,  162. 

Dutch,  85. 

English,  85,  99,   12S,  13 
144,  145,  192,  209. 

Charter  of,    97,    147,    149-153 
208,  273, 
Ebed  Jesu,  80. 

"  Echoes  of  Service,"  225,  226. 
Eddapally,  Synod  of,  83. 
Edessa,  28,  30,  32. 
Edinburgh  Mission  to  Lepers,  365. 
Education,  137,  173-184,  307-323.    ■ 
Educational  Dispatch,  1854,   180,  1S2 
Edward  vii.,  219. 
Edwardes,  Sir  H.,  194,  207,  211, 
Eickhom,  Frau,  336. 
Ekantinas,  43. 
Elakurichi,  68. 

Elementary  education,  183,  309-312. 
Elias,  76,  So. 

Ellenborough,  Lord,  183,  205. 
Ellerton,  288,  289. 
Ellichpur,  216,  224. 


!2,  135, 
92, 


Ellore,  195. 

Elmslie,  Dr.,  351. 

Englishmen,  176. 

English        Presbyterian        Missionary 

Society,  213. 
English-speaking  India,  322-324. 
"Epiphany,"  301,  325. 
"Episcopal  Synod,"  1877,  276. 
Epworth  League,  328. 
"  Erasmus  of  India,"  the,  36S. 
Eurasians,  130,  333. 
Eutychianism,  89. 
Exeter  Hall,  190. 
Exploration  of  India,  135. 
Ezour  Vedam,  67. 

Fabricius,  Rev.  P.,  11 3- 116,  126,  130, 

166,  270,  2S5,  288. 
Fairbairn,  Dr.,  324. 
"Faith"  missionar}-,  225. 
"Faith"  orphanage,  239. 
Famines  in  India,  193,  217,  218,  234, 

235,  237-239,  410. 
Fanderina,  41. 
Farrukhabad,  205. 
Fata  Morgana,  266. 
Fatehganj,  212. 
Fatehgar,  200,  204,  205. 
Fatehpur-Sikri,  212. 
Fells,  Dr.,  354. 
Fenger,  126. 
Fenn,  Rev.  D.,  284. 
Fereira,  291. 
Fergusson,  195. 
"Ferishta,"  209. 
Fernandes,  59,  62. 
Fetishism,  23. 
Fisher,  131. 
Florentius,  92. 
Fonseca,  da,  Archbp.,  45. 
Foote,  390. 
Forbes,  Gordon,  154. 
Fordyce,  Rev.  J.,  338. 
Forman,  Dr.  C.  W.,  200,  352,  359. 
Forsyth,  Rev.  N.,  145. 
Fort  Dansborg,  loi. 
Fort  William  College,  135,  136,  147. 
Fountain,  Rev.  J.,  133. 
Francis,  P.,  132^ 

Franciscans,  38,  39,  44,  45,  58,  71,  74. 
Franckes,  the,  103,  116,  126,  163. 
"  Frauenverein  fiir  Bildung,"  etc.,  198. 
Frederick  IV.,  102. 
Frederiksnagar,  131. 
Freeman,  Rev.  J,  E.,  204. 
French,  Bp.,  184,  424. 
Frere,  Sir  B.,  209,  220. 
Friaul,  41. 

"  Friend  of  India,"  137. 
Fritz,  292. 
Frohnmeyer,  292. 


INDEX 


457 


Frois,  52, 

Fry,  Mr.  H.  W.,  413. 

Fry,  Dr.  E.  S.,  348. 

Fuller,  Andrew,  142,  150,  224. 

Fyvie,  Rev.  W. ,  291. 

Fyzabad,  211,  212. 

Gama,  V.  da,  44,  79. 

Gandulpura,  153. 

Ganesa,  25,  384. 

Ganges,  2,  3,  58. 

Ganguli,  184. 

Garden  Reach,  157. 

Garhwal,  3. 

Garo,  216,  298,  303. 

Uarzia,  83,  84,  87. 

Gaspar,  52. 

Gauhati,  199. 

Gavan,  J.,  46. 

Gaya,  185. 

Gazerta,  76. 

Geister,  126. 

"Genealogy  of  Deities   of  Malabar," 

107,  285. 
"  General  Assembly  Institution,"  195, 

387. 
"General  Baptist  Missionary  Society," 

153- 
"General  Council,"  173,  198. 
"General  Synod,"  173,  198. 
Gericke,  113,  121,  161. 
German  colonies,  151. 
Germann,  Dr.  W.,  107,  285. 
German    Protestant    Synod    of    North 

America,  213. 
Germany,  258. 
George,  Archdeacon,  81,  83. 
George  a  Campo,  86. 
Ghasi  Das,  22,  251. 
Ghasis,  395. 
Ghats,  2,  4,  76. 
Ghazipur,  197,  198,  283. 
Ghoom,  225. 
Ghose,  M.  C.,  184,  415. 
Ghose,  S.  K.,  398. 
Ghurkhas,  225. 
Gilder,  Mrs.,  237. 
Glenelg,  Lord,  189,  190. 
Goa,  44-49,  55-58,  71,  74,  So,  81,  84, 

92,  93.  96. 
Goanese,  130. 

Godavari,  195,  217,  219,  224,  235. 
Godhpur,  393. 
Godwin,  Mr.,  387. 
Goes,  L.,  57. 

Gogerly,  Rev.  D.  J.,  291,  292, 
Gojra,  235. 
Golconda,  72. 
Gomalti,  133. 
Gomez,  55. 
Gonda,  211. 


[97,    198, 

30,    133.    134.    146, 
System,    152,    154, 


353- 
157- 


Gondophares,  27,  28. 

Gonds,   7,    198,   215,    216,   247,   284 

302. 
Gondwana,  198. 
Gopelganj,  226. 
Gopinath  Nundy,  184,  205. 
Gorakhpur,  157,  319,  320. 
Gorakpanthi,  22. 
Gordon,  Rev.  John,  293. 
Gordon,  Rev.  Maxwell,  284,  352. 
Goreh,  N.,  269,  303,  414,  427. 
Gosain,  25. 

"  Gospel  Witness,"  436. 
Gossner    and   his   Mission, 

215,  229,  282,  364,  415. 
Graham,  Dr.,  239. 
Grant,  134. 
Grant,    Charles, 

150,  273. 
Grant,  Dr.,  352. 
"  Grant   in   Aid 

182,  311. 
Graul,  Dr.  K.,  167,  260,  285,  302 
Gray,  Rev.  J.  H.,  422. 
Gray,  Rev.  W.,  284.! 
Green,  Dr.  S.,  347. 
Greenfield,  Dr.  Rose. 
Greenwooci,  Rev.  — , 
Gregory,  John,  89. 
Gregory  of  Tours,  32. 
Gregory,  Pope,  64. 
Gregson,  226. 
Gribble,  Judge,  381. 
Grierson,  Dr.,  11. 
Griswold,  Dr.,  404,  405. 
Grotto  of  St.  Thomas,  65. 
Groves,  A.,  195,  224. 
Grubb,  Rev.  — ,  324. 
Grundemann,  Dr.,  407,  408 
Grtindler,  Dr.,  106,  170. 
Gubbi,  160. 
Gudur,  213. 
Guevara,  105. 
"  Guide  to  Christian  Life 
Guilford,  Rev.  E.,  359. 
Guimaraes,  S.  de,  79. 
Guinness,  Dr.  Grattan,  225. 
Gujarat,  10,  13,  45.  IS5.  I9S,  213,  222, 

224,  240,  352. 
Gujarati,  9. 
Gujranwala,  213,  236. 
Gulbarga,  212. 
Guledgudd,  196. 
Gundert,  Dr.,  33,   115,   197,270,271, 

292,  302. 
Guntur,  198,  219,  319,  320. 
Gurney,  Rev.  Dr.,  290. 
Guru,  61. 
Gurudatta,  394. 
Gurukula,  396. 
Guru  Nanak,  366. 


54- 


458 


INDEX 


Gurupadam,  ii6. 
Gutzlaff,  Dr.,  198. 

Haberlin,  Dr.,  288. 
Hackel,  Ernst,  391. 
Hadjipore,  197. 
Haffldne,  Dr.,  237. 
Hagert,  A.,  215. 
Hahn,  Rev.  F.,  239,  302. 
Haidar   AH,  90,    100,    113, 


14,    119, 


Haigh,  General,  217,  284. 

Haigh,  Rev.  Henry,  24,  269,  292,  301, 

306. 
Haileybury,  136. 
Haine,  Sir  F.,  372. 
ITaldane,  R.,  144. 
Halifax,  Lord,  180. 
Hall,  Pastor  C,  324. 
Hall,  F.  E.,  303. 
Hall,  Rev.  G.,  149. 
Halle,  162,  163,  164,  286. 
Hamilton,  Dr.,  346. 
Handmann,  167. 
Hands,  Rev.  J.,  292. 
Happel,  Julius,  304. 
Haracti,  302. 
Harding,  428. 

Hardinge,  Sir  H.,  179,  1S2. 
Hardoi,  211. 
Hard  war,  3,  23,  13 1. 
Hardwicke  College,  Mysore,  426. 
Harms,  Pastor  L.,  173. 
Harnam,  Singh  Ahluwalia,  Sir,  32S. 
"Harvest  Field,"  300. 
Haskell,  Miss  €.,  324. 
Haslam,  Rev.  W.,  324. 
Hassius,  J.  S.,  103-109. 
Hastings,  Marquess  of,  131,   145,  147, 

335- 
Hastings,  Warren,  129,  132. 
Haubroe,  Rev.  L.  P.,  168,  169. 
Haug,  Prof.,  33. 
Havelock,  Sir  H.,  204. 
Hawa,  186. 
Hay,  Dr.  John,  293. 
Haycock,  Rev.  W.  H.,  204. 
Hazaribagh,  222,  319,  320. 
Heber,  Bp.,  157,  168,  169,  276. 
Hebich,  Rev.  S.,  197,  2S2,  2S3. 
Hee  Waduni,  162, 
Henzada,  199. 

Hephzibah  Evangelistic  Mission,  226. 
Herrmannsburg     Missionary     Society, 

173,  213,  432. 
Herrnhut,  124,  303. 
Heurnius,  J.,  346. 
Hewlett,  Miss,  352. 
Himalaya  Missionary  Union,  194,  197. 
Himyarites,  29,  35. 
Hindi,  9,  136,  139,  148,  301,  302. 


"  Hindu  College,"  384. 

Hinduism,  21,  243-272,  383,  386,  388, 

389,  400. 
Hindustan,  129,  145. 
Hindustani,  12,  16,  148,  176. 
"  Hindu  Tract  Society,"  389-392. 
Hislop,  Dr.,  183,  195. 
Hoffmann,  Rev.  W.,  196,  336. 
Holcomb,  Rev.  — ,  290. 
Hollands,  Rev.  V.  E.  S.,  326. 
Hooghly,  73,  74. 
Hook-swinging,  189. 
Hooper,  Dr.  W.,  290,  424. 
Hornle,  Dr.,  11,  289. 
Hos,  the,  18. 
Hoshangabad,  213,  351. 
Hostels,  Mission,  325,  326. 
Hough,  Chaplain,  158. 
Howrah,  225. 

Hubbard,  Rev.  A.  R.,  204. 
Hubli,  196,  236,  250. 
Hume,  Dr.,  239. 
Humphrey,  Rev.  — ,  277. 
Hung  Tsiu  Tseuen,  252. 
Hunter,  Rev.  — ,  205. 
Hunter,  Sir  W.,  209,  309. 
Huntley,  Dr.  W.,  353. 
Huonder,  Father,  95. 
Htittemann,  Rev.  G.  H.,  116,  163. 
Hyderabad,  72,  202,  212,  294. 

Iballaha,  76. 

Ibbetson,  Sir  D.,  19. 

Idolatry,  23,  26,  249. 

Ilahi,  73. 

Imad-ud-Din,  414,  427. 

Indian  Baptist  Missionary  Society,  225. 

"  Indian  Evangelical  Review,"  300. 

"  Indian  Home  Mission,"  215,  415. 

"  Indian  Mirror,"  378. 

Indian    National    Missionary   Society, 

436- 
"  Indian  Railway  Mission,"  225, 
Indo-Aryan  languages,  9. 
Indore,  213,  320,  396. 
Indra,  264. 
Indus,  2. 
"  Industrial      Evangelistic     Mission," 

240. 
"Industrial   Missionary  Aid   Society," 

413- 

"  International  Bible  Readers'  Associa- 
tion," 328. 

"International  Christian  Alliance," 
223. 

Iravi  Korttan,  34. 

Irish  Presbyterians,  195. 

Irulers,  215. 

Isenberg,  291. 

"  Isis  Unveiled,"  379. 

Islamabad,  153,  351,  352. 


INDEX 


459 


Iso  Data,  35. 

Isvara,  270. 

"Itinerant  Preachers'  Mission, 


284. 


Jackson,  Mr.,  361. 

Jacobites,  89,  90. 

Jaffna,  51,  64,  74,  161,  199. 

Jagannath,  139,  185. 

jagraon,  352. 

Jains,  22,  217,  249,  3S6. 

Jaipur,  74,  213,  221,  238,  302. 

Jalalpur,  352. 

Jalna,  349. 

Janialpoie,  225. 

James  of  Padua,  39. 

Jameson,  Capt.,  336. 

Jamtara,  215,  224. 

Jandiala,  350. 

Janeo,  15. 

[anicke,  Dr.,  159,  161. 

Janssen,  94. 

Jashpur,  229. 

Jats,  12,  13. 

Jaunpur,  157. 

Java,  145. 

Javan,  139. 

Jay  Narain  College,  158. 

[ay  Narain  Ghosal,  158,  338. 

Jehangir,  74. 

Jehan,  Shah,  74. 

Jellalabad,  211. 

Jellasor,  200. 

Jerusalem,  27,  30. 

Jerusalem,  Statute  of,  275. 

Jessore,  141,  149. 

Jesudasen,  35. 

Jesuits,  45,  46,  48,  69,  71,  73,  So,  81, 

82,  84,  93- 
Jesu-Jabus,  35. 
Jhang  Bar,  235. 
Jhansi,  218. 
Jhelum,  235,  352. 
Jhengiz  Khan,  38. 
Joao  II.,  44. 

Joao  III.,  44,  45,  48,  51,  52,  54,  56. 
Joao,  Bishop,  45. 
Jodhpur,  213,  348,  352. 
Johala,  21. 

John,  Bp.  of  Persia,  29. 
John,  an  impostor,  37. 
John  of  Marignola,  42. 
John  of  Monte  Corvino,  39. 
John,  Rev.  — ,  123,  162,  163. 
John  the  Baptist,  Bishop,  87. 
Johns,  Rev.  — ,  145. 
Johnson,  Rev.  A.  O.,  204. 
Johnson,  Rev.  — ,  269. 
Jones,  Dr.,  399. 
Jones,  Rev.  W.  L.,  217. 
Jordan,  39,  40,  106. 
Josenhaus,  283. 


Joseph  of  Santa  Maria,  84,  85. 

Jowai,  217. 

Juan  a  Cruce,  49. 

Juan  de  Brito,  68. 

Juangs,  246. 

Jubbulpore,  216. 

Judson,  Rev.  A.,  144,  149,  161. 

Jullundur,  200. 

Jumna,  235. 

"Jungle  Tribes  Mission,"  227. 

Junta  of  Goa,  56. 

Justinian,  35. 

Kabir,  22,  250. 

Kabirpanthi,  22,  250,  366 

Kacha  Khuh,  227. 

Kachhi,  13,  245. 

Kadhar,  224. 

Kaisar  i  Hind,  239. 

Kalagnanas,  250. 

Kalahasti,  213. 

Kali,  25,  189,  246. 

Kalimali,  227. 

Kalimpong,  213,  239. 

Kalian,  121. 

Kalyan,  21,  31,  32,  40. 

Kamageri,  224. 

Kammaler,  34,  35. 

Kammerer,  Rev.  A.  F.,  165. 

Kampti,  212, 

Kanara,  4,  21,  196,  283,  411. 

Kanarese,  7,  72,  149,  155,  196. 

Kanauji,  302. 

Kandh,  7,  217. 

Kandy,  296. 

Kangra,  194,  351. 

Kangri,  396. 

Karachi,  212. 

Karen,   161,   199,  207,  244,  247,  250, 

303- 
Karikal,  96. 
Karma  Marga,  25,  2 50. 
Karmarkar,  427. 
Karmatar,  224. 
Karta  Bhoja,  251. 
Kashipur,  186. 

Kashmir,  3,  6,  12,  15,  211,  21 8,  238. 
Kashmiri,  9,  11. 
Kasim  Khan,  74. 
Kasra,  250. 
Kathavul,  270. 
Kathiawar,  195,  392. 
Katmandu,  73. 
Kattanars,  78,  81-S5. 
Katwa,  141. 
Kaye,  189,  191. 
Kellett,  Rev.  T.  W.,  325. 
Kellogg,  Dr.,  290. 
Kerala,  34. 
Keti,  196. 
Khandesh,  224. 


460 


INDEX 


Kharmatar,  224. 

Khasia  or  Khassi,  141,  217,  247,  298, 

303- 
Khedgaon,  227,  239,  240. 
Kherwara,  217. 
Kherwarian,  8. 
Khorasan,  2. 
Khyber  Pass,  211. 
Kidderpur,  157. 
Kiernander,  Rev.  J.  Z.,  113,  115,  129, 

130,  131- 
Kinnaird,  Lady,  341. 
Kirk,  363. 

Kistenmacher,  no,  in. 
Kistna,  195,  235,  322. 
Klein,  Dr.  J.,  123,  346. 
Klopsch,  Dr.,  239,  240. 
Knobloch,  292. 
Knowles,  291. 
Koch,  204. 
Kodagu,  7. 
Kodaikanal,  436. 
Kodakal,  196. 
Kodungalur,  34, 
Kodur,  213. 
Koefoed,  226. 
Kohistani,  9. 
Kohlhoff,  122,  165,  166. 
Koi,  217,  302. 
Kolar,  212. 
Kolarian,  8,  214,  248. 
Kols,    198,    207,    215,  216,    217 

222,  229,  244,  245,  250,  251 
Konig,  Dr.,  346. 
Konkan,  161. 
Koran  Purana,  309. 
Koraput,  221. 
Korolongata,  78,  85,  88. 
Kosiii  Koshi,  292. 
Kota,  7,  215,  302. 
Kotapad,  221. 

Kotgarh,  194,  197,  198,  351. 
Kranganur,  30,  31,  34,  55,  74,  76,  79, 

82,  84,  85,  87,  88,  90,  91,  93. 
Kreyher,  304. 
Kripananda  Swami,  3S7. 
Krishna,  22,  24,  249,  398. 
Krishnagar,    193,  201,   206,  224,   251, 

350,  417,  419,  424,  431. 
Krishnagiri,  222. 
Kshatriya,  18,  21,  230. 
Kubla  Khan,  38. 
Kudumi,  64. 
Kuhhnann,  238. 
Kulna,  349,  352. 
Kumaon,  3,  302,  362. 
Kumhiakonani,  155,  197. 
Kumhars,  18. 
Kunawar,  199. 
Kunnankulam,  225. 
Kurdistan,  77. 


219, 

415- 


Kurku  and  Central  Indian  Hill  Mission, 

216,  224,  303.  . 
Kurmis,  18. 
Kurseong,  376. 
Kurukh,  7,  302. 
Kurumbans,  215. 
Kut  Humi,  380-382. 
Kyelang,  199. 

Lacroix,  Rev.  A.  F.,  168,  281,  339. 

Ladakh,  199. 

Lahnda,  9,  il. 

Lahore,  81,   180,  200,  211,  274,  326, 

354,  392,  396,  424,  434- 
Laidler,  Dr.,  174. 
Lake,  Gen.  E.,  210. 
Lally,  Count,  97,  98. 
Lange,  J.,  103. 
"  Laocoon,"  140. 
Larsen,  L.  P.,  327. 
Lawrence,  Sir  H.,  194,  204,  207,  209. 
Lawrence,  Sir  J.,  194,  207. 
Lawson,  Rev.  — ,  240. 
Laynez,  69. 
Lazarus,  Rev.  F.,  385. 
Lee,  Rev.  — ,  240. 
Leh,  199. 
Leipzig  Missionary  Society,   170,   173, 

197,  222,  234,  257,  260,  261,  282, 

288,  297,  426. 
Leitao,  Bp.,  88. 
Leitch,  Dr.,  347. 
Leith,  Rev.  D.  G.  M.,  325. 
Leopold,  Emperor,  87. 
Leper  Missions,  355-365. 
Leprosy,  355, 
Leupolt,  Rev.  C.  B.,  193. 
Leupolt,  Mrs.,  339. 
Lewis,  293. 
Lex  loci,  191. 
Lhasa,  73. 

"  Librarian,"  the,  398. 
Lingaites,  21,  22. 
Literati,  299. 
Lohr,  Julius,  239. 
London,  162-164. 
London  Missionary  Society,  145,  146, 

154,   I55>  174,  201,  219,  333,  429, 

436- 
"  Lone  Star,"  the,  199. 
Lord,  Dr.,  347. 
Lorinser,  Dr.,  44. 
Lorrain,  226. 
Love-feasts,  170. 
Lowe,  Dr.,  348. 
Loyola,  45,  46,  52. 
Lucknow,    204,    211,    212,    275,    284, 

320. 
Ludhiana,  200,  227,  236,  296,  353. 
Lutheran  Conference,  All  Indian,  436. 
"  Lutheran  Swarm,"  107,  112. 


INDEX 


461 


Lutkins,  Dr.,  102,  106. 
Lyallpur,  235. 

Maabar,  38,  41. 
Mabap,  409,  41 1,  428. 
Macaulay,  Col.,  33. 
Macaulay,  T.  B.,  242. 
Mackay,  Rev.  J.,  204. 
Mackichan,  Dr.,  291. 
Maclaren  Settlement  for  Lepers,  360. 
Madanapalli,  20O. 
Maddox,  292. 
Madhyadesa,  11. 

Madigas,  195,  232,  234,  240,  248,  416. 
Madras,  75,  96,  97,  98,  100,  109,  112, 
113,  119,  120,  125,  145,  149.  155. 
157,  158,  161,  168,  169,  180,  184, 
197,  201,  206,  212,  219,  226,  320, 
334,  343,  421,  423>  436- 
"  Madras  Native   Christian    Provident 

Fund,"  419. 
Madrissa,  175,  176. 

Madura,  24,  26,  50,  59,  62,  67,  68,  71, 
82,  92,  93,  99,  100,  loi,  118,  125, 
170,  197,  199.  296,  419,  425- 
Mahabharata,  43,  44. 
Mahadevapatnam,  30. 
Mahars,  200,  248,  416. 
Mahatmas,  380. 
Mahdi,  403. 
Mahilis,  18. 
Maijam,  224. 
Maine,  Sir  H.,  192,  242. 
Mainpuri,  200. 
Maitland,  Sir  P.,  191. 
Malabar,  4,   18,  29,  30,  31,  35,  42,  43, 

53,  76,  84,  87,  90,  91,  412. 
Malabari,  331. 

Malas,  232-234,  240,  248,  416. 
Malayalam,  7,  36,  77,  196,  270,  302. 
Malayals,  245. 
Malayan,  139,  176. 
Malay  Peninsula,  45. 
Maldive  Islands,  42. 
Maldivese,  139. 
Male,  31,  32. 
Malhar,  7. 
Malleans,  214. 
Malto,  7,  215,  302. 
Malvalli,  224. 
Manar,  51,  74,  85. 
Manargudi,  160,  320. 
Manbhum,  215,  226. 
Mandalay,  365. 
Mandapasalai,  199. 
Mandeville,  Sir  J.,  41. 
Mandla,  216. 
Manepy,  298. 
Mangalavasanam,  301. 
Mangalore,  90,  100,  120,  196,  299. 
Mangar,  244,  247. 


Mangate,  76,  84. 

Mangs,  200,  248,  416. 

Manichasism,  31. 

Manigramam,  34,  197. 

Manikavachacar,  36. 

Manley,  Rev.  G.  T.,  326. 

Mansilla,  50,  51,  54. 

Mansis,  395. 

Mantras,  26. 

Manu,  188,  230. 

Manuel,  King,  44. 

Maphrian,  89. 

Mar  Abraham,  77,  80,  Si. 

Mar  Denha,  76. 

Mar  Dionysius,  88. 

Mar  Gabriel,  90. 

Mar  Gregor,  89. 

Mar  Jacob,  76,  77,  80. 

Mar  Jacobus,  33,  79, 

Mar  Joseph,  80. 

Mar  Prodh,  35. 

Mar  Simeon,  76. 

Mar  Simon,  90. 

Mar  Thomas,  84,  89. 

Mar  Xabro,  35. 

Marang  Buru,  244. 

Marathi,  9,  u,  72,  74,   136,   139,    196, 
202. 

Maratha  Kunbis,  14. 

Marava,  68,  419. 

Marcellus  11.,  59. 

Marco  Polo,  38,  41. 

Mardin,  89. 

Marpha,  216. 

Marshall,  94. 

Marshman,  124,  134-143,  168. 

Marshman,  Mrs.,  137,  334. 

Martin,  Dr.,  312,  359. 

Martin,  Mr.  and  Mrs.,  225. 

Martini,  123. 

Martins,  Dr.,  346. 

Martyn,  Rev.  H.,  147,  2S9,  290. 

Martyrdom,  27,  40,  41. 

Maruvan  Sapir  Iso,  34,  35. 

Marwar,  74. 

Marwari,  302. 

Mason,  Dr.,  207. 

Massie,  Dr.,  174. 

MasuUpatam,  73,  97,    1S4,    194,    320, 

423- 
Matanger,  84. 
Matha,  388. 

Mathers,  Dr.  R.  C,  289. 
Matthew  of  Medina,  Abp.,  45. 
Matunga,  360. 
Mauritius,  144. 
Mawphlang,  217. 
Maxwell,  Dr.,  351. 
May,  Rev.  R.,  145,  334. 
Maya,  264-270. 
Mayavaram,  197. 


462 


INDEX 


Mazagaon,  212. 

Mazhabi  Sikhs,  416. 

Mazumdar,  375,  376. 

McComby,  281. 

McLaurin,  Rev.  J.,  297,  306. 

M'Leod,  Sir  D.,  198,  209. 

McMullen,  Rev.  R.  M.,  204. 

McNeile,  Rev.  H.,  324. 

Meadows,  Rev.  R.  R.,  284. 

Medak,  426. 

Medical  Missions,  220,  230,  300,  346- 

355- 
Meerut,  147,  157,  203. 
Mehtars,  248,  416. 
Melas,  23,  131,  282. 
Melnattam,  160. 
Mendynantes,  41. 
Menentillus,  39. 
Mennonites,  222,  226. 
Meru,  43. 

Mesopotamia,  30,  76,  77,  81. 
Methodist       Episcopal       Church       of 
America,  211,  212,  229,  233,  234, 
240,  299,  432. 
Metz,  Rev.  — ,  214. 
Mhow,  213. 
Middleton,  Bp.,  91,  156,  165,  275,  276, 

278,  279. 
Midnapur,  200. 
Mihicham,  224. 
Milapur,  32,  33,  36-38,  42,  43,  58,  65, 

76,  84,  93,  114. 
Milky  Sea,  43. 
Mill,  Stuart,  391. 
Miller,  Dr.,  183,  309,  319. 
Millet,  Major-General,  227. 
Mimansa,  263. 
Minachi,  26. 
Minachiammal,  100. 
Minorites,  41. 
Miriam  Zamani,  193. 
Mirza,  G.  A.,  401-405. 
Mirzapur,  157,  207,  289. 
Misdeus,  28. 

Missionary  calling,  the,  135. 
Missionary  Conferences — 

Madras,  1848,  170. 

Madras,  1850,  170. 

Calcutta,  1855,  214. 

Benares,  1857,  214. 

Ootacamund,  1 858,  214. 

Lahore,  1862,  214. 

Allahabad,  1872,  214,  313,  327,  428, 

434- 
Bangalore,  1879,  171,  214,  313, 
Calcutta,  1882,  313. 
Bombay,  1892,  229,  230,  434. 
S.  India,  1900,  171,  306,  378. 
S.  India,  1902,    171,   229,   230,   295, 

306. 
"  Mission  to  Lepers,"  358. 


Missouri  Missionary  Society,  222. 

Mitchell,  Rev.  Murray,  324. 

Mobaron,  41. 

Mogling,  197,  292. 

Molucca  Islands,  45,  141. 

Monasteries  at  Goa,  72. 

Monghyr,  153. 

Mongolian  Moghuls,  15. 

Monro,  J.,  225,  354. 

Mons,  the,  245. 

Monsoons,  the,  3,  $. 

Montgomery,  Sir  R.,  19J,  207,  209. 

Moradabad,  211. 

Moravians,  124,  131,  199,  346. 

Morrison,  Dr.  J.,  357. 

Morvi,  392. 

Moslem  Institute,  the,  401. 

Mosul,  76. 

Motihari,  225. 

Mott,  John,  326,  327. 

Moulmein,  161. 

Mozambique,  45. 

Mozumdar,  184,  375,  376. 

Mudnabati,  133,  134,  139. 

Muhammadanism,   15,  20,  21,  48,  176, 

253,  262,  366,  400-405. 
Muhsos,  250. 
Muir,  Sir  W.,  209,  304. 
Muirabad,  419. 
Muir  College,  326. 
Mukerjeas,  184,  414. 
Mukti,  239. 
Mulki,  196. 

Mlillbauer,  62,  63,  67-69,  73,  74,  92. 
Mullens,  Mrs.,  328. 
Midler,  Geo.,  324. 
Miiller,  Max,  384,  387,  391. 
Mul  Shankar,  392. 
Multan,  194,  227,  235,  351. 
Munda,  8,   13,   15,   18,  244,  246,  247, 

298,  302. 
Mundakajam,  214. 
Mungeli,  222. 

Murdoch,  Dr.  J.,  239,  296,  297,  37S. 
Murshidabad,  367. 
Musahars,  12,  247. 
Mussoorie,  212. 
Musuwa,  362. 
Muterte,  76. 
Mutiny,  the,   179,   180,  202-209,  241, 

412. 
Muttancherry,  84. 
Muzaffarpur,  197,  212. 
Muzafifarnagar,  361. 
Myladi,  146,  154. 
"  My  Path  to  Atheism,"  382,  390. 
Mysore,  68,  100,  160,  187,  212. 

Nadiya,  269,  284. 

Nagas,  245,  247,  298,  303. 

Nagercoil,  154,  295,  299,  320. 


INDEX 


463 


Nagpur,   141,   183,  19s,  198,  212,  216, 

275.  320,  349- 
Naini  Tal,  212. 
Namentallah,  8g. 
Nanakshahi,  22. 
Nana  Sahib,  204. 
Nancowry,  124. 
Naoroji,  D.,  184. 
Narayana,  43. 
Naiowal,  284. 
Narsapur,  195,  224. 
Nasik,  158,  352. 
Nasirabad,  213,  348. 
Nath,  184. 
"National   Church"   movement,  427- 

436. 
•'  National  College,"  Madras,  396. 
Native  ministers,  427. 
Nats,  244,  245. 
Naturis,  402. 
Nautch  girls,  1 87,  331. 
Nayak,  59,  99,  lOO. 
Nayar,  30. 
Nayudupetta,  213. 
Nazarites,  31. 
Negapatam,  51,  58,  71,  74,  85,  92,  96, 

109,  113,  160. 
Nellore,  199,  219,  322. 
Nelson,  Judge,  191. 
Nepal,  73,  75,  225,  247. 
Nepean,  Sir  E.,  144,  149. 
"  Nercha,"  77. 
Nesfield,  20. 

Nestorians,  30,  40,  76,  77,  Si,  89. 
Netherlands  Missionary  Society,  281. 
Neve,  Drs.,  351,  354. 
Neve,  Dr.  A.,  239. 
"New  Dispensation,"  the,  374. 
Newell,  144,  149. 
Newton,  Dr.  John,  200,  290,  352. 
Neyoor,  154,  353,  354. 
Nicea,  Council  of,  29. 
Nicholas  of  Pistoja,  39. 
Nicobar  Islands,  124,  303. 
Nicolas  Notovitch,  403. 
Nicolo  de  Conti,  43. 
Nilgiri,  226. 
Nilos  Doxopatrios,  37. 
Nimach,  213. 
Nimbarak,  22. 
Nimpani,  216. 
Nineveh,  30. 
Nirvana,  265,  267. 
Nividita,  Sister,  387. 
Niyoga,  395. 

Nobili,  R.  de,  58-71,  287. 
Noble,  Miss  M.,  387. 
Noble,  R.,  184,  194. 
North-West  Provinces,  206,  240. 
Northbrook,  Lord,  180. 
North  German  Missionary  Society,  198. 


Norton,  216,  224,  240. 

Nott,  149. 

Nottrott,  Dr.,  244,  250,  303,  362. 

Nowgong,  199. 

Noyes,  Rev.  — ,  290. 

Nuddea,  175. 

Observantes,  71. 

Ochsian  dispute,  the,  213. 

Odoric,  41. 

Oehler,  Dr.  T.,  283. 

Olcott,  Col.,  378-385,  390,  393- 

Ole  Gedde,  loi. 

Oman,  Prof.  Campbell,  396. 

Ongole,  218,  320. 

Ootacamund,  214,  226. 

"  Open  Brethren,"  the,  224,  225. 

Oraon,  7,   8,   18,   244,   246,   247,  295, 

298,  302. 
Oratorians,  72. 

Orientalists,  132,  136,  176,  179. 
Orissa,  12,  24,  73,    141,  153,  185,  217, 

218. 
Oriya,  9,  n,  290,  295,  378. 
Ormuz,  45,  58,  81. 
Orphanages,  333,  410. 
Oudh,  202,  204,  206,  211,  275. 
Owen,  Dr.  Jos.,  290. 
Oxford  Brotherhood,  325. 

Pachamba,  215,  349. 

Pahari,  7,  9,  215,  302. 

Paine,  390. 

Pakur,  212. 

Palamattam,  78,  85,  86,  88. 

Palamcottah,  119,  127,  319,  320,  343, 
422,  423. 

Palaungs,  245. 

Palghat,  196. 

Palmaner,  200. 

Palmyra,  201. 

Palpa,  302. 

Panchamas,  18,  230-234,  260. 

"  Panch  Howds,"  222. 

Panchpiria,  22. 

Pandara  Swamis,  65,  66. 

Panruti,  226. 

Pantjenus,  28,  29. 

Pantheism,  23,  262-272. 

Papal  Decrees  in  India,  92. 

Paramba,  86. 

Paraparan,  270. 

Paravas,  48,  49,  59,  61,  62,  63. 

Parganas,  156. 

Pariahs,  14,  64,  65,  67,  69,  108,  III, 
166,  167-172,  230,  240,  245,  247, 
248,  259,  260,  261,  416,  417. 

Parker,  Bp.,  212. 

Paroth,  39. 

Parsiism,  see  Zoroastrianism. 

Parsons,  Rev.  G.  H.,  290. 


464 


INDEX 


Parua,  76. 

Parur,  225. 

Pashto,  302. 

Pasumalai,  170,  199,  299,  320,  425. 

Pasupat,  22, 

Patan,  73. 

Patashala,  183,  269,  296,  309. 

Pathans,  15. 

Patna,  73,  131,  153,  236,  350. 

Patriarch,  Nestorian,  76,  84,  88. 

Patronage  of  idol-worship,  185-192. 

Patzold,  136,  165. 

Paulerspury,  131. 

Pearson,  Rev.  H.,  117,  147. 

Pegg,  Rev.  — ,  239. 

Pegu,  58. 

Pehlavi,  32,  33. 

Pentecost,  Dr.,  324. 

"Pentecostal  Mission,"  226. 

Percival,  Rev.  — ,  288. 

Pereira,  Abp.,  45. 

Periacoppam,  199. 

Perron,  du,  33. 

Persians,  15,  32,  148,  176,  203. 

Perumal,  34. 

Peschito,  77. 

Peshawar,    194,    211,    227,    320,    350, 

351- 

Pestonji,  H.,  427. 

Peter  of  Siena,  39. 

Peter  Paul  of  Palma,  87. 

Petit,  Sir  D.,  360. 

Peys,  the,  246. 

Pfander,  304. 

Phantasiasts,  36. 

"  Philosophical  Inquirer,"  390. 

Pietism,  103,  126,  164. 

Pilgrim     Taxes,    the,     1 85-1 87,     1S9, 

191. 
Pilibhit,  212. 
Pimenta,  76. 
Pimentel,  Abp.,  88. 
Pind  Dadan  Khan,  211. 
"  Pious  Clauses,"  150. 
Pipli,  73. 
Pisachas,  246. 

Pithora-garh,  212,  362,  363. 
Place,  Mr.,  186. 
Plague,  the,  236,  237, 
Plassey,  202. 

Pllitschau,  Rev.  11.,  102- 1 10. 
Plymouth  Brethren,  215,  224. 
Podtu,  167. 

Pohle,  Rev.  C,  122,  165,  166. 
Poladpur,  361. 
Polygamy,  255,  387. 
Polzenhagen,  116,  124. 
Pondicherry,  66,    68,  75,   90,   94,   96, 

97,  98,  115- 
Pongol  festival,  187. 
Poo,  199. 


Poona,   161,  212,  222,  226,  227,  236, 

4i3>  424- 
Pope  John  xxii.,  40. 
Population,  6. 
Porca,  76. 

Poriar,  109,  123,  197. 
Portenau,  41. 
"  Portuguese,"  96,  105,  108,    112,   113, 

129. 
Portuguese  Missions,  decay  of,  74. 
Prabhu  Din,  131. 
Prabuddha  Bharata,  399. 
Prangui,  56,  59,  62,  63,  66. 
Prathana  Samaj,  397, 
Pratt,  Rev.  Jos.,  150. 
Pratt,  Hodgson,  207. 
Premananda,  226. 
Prendergast,  150. 
Presbyterian  Church  of  India,  435. 
Presbyterian  Missions,  161,  213,  435. 
Press,  the,  137,  299,  300,  301. 
Pressier,  Rev.  C.  F.,  112,  123, 
Prester  John,  75. 
Printing  houses,  137,  298,  299. 
Pritchett,  Rev.  E.,  293. 
"Privilege  Tablets,"  33,  79. 
Prochnow,  Dr.,  197. 
Proclamation  of  Queen  Victoria,  208. 
Prome,  199. 
Protestant  Lutheran  Missionary  Society, 

197. 
"  Public  Instruction  Department,"  180, 
Pucotta,  87. 
Puddukkottai,  68. 
Pui,  361. 
"Puja,"  26,  132. 
PuHcat,  96,  113,  114,  115. 
Pulsnitz,  102. 
Punjab,   2,    10,    12,    15,   19,    180,    193, 

194,  206,  210,  211,   236,  274,  396, 

411,  424,  432,  434. 
Punjabi,  9. 

"  Punjab  Itinerancy,"  the,  284. 
Puranas,  309,  393,  398. 
Puri,  25,  139,  185,  251. 
Purulia,  225,  364. 
Pusey,  194. 
Pushkara,  24. 
Puttencherry,  87. 

Qadian,  401,  402. 
Quadras,  52. 
Quetta,  351. 
Quien,  le,  80. 
Quilliam  Abdullah,  401. 
Quilon,  31,  35,  37,  38,  42,  58,   74,   76, 
79,  85. 

Rabban,  Joseph,  34,  76. 
Radhaswami  Movement,  22,  399. 
Radhavallabhi,  22. 


INDEX 


465 


Radstock,  Lord,  324. 
Rae  Bareli,  211. 
Raffles,  Sir  S.,  145. 
Ragas,  268. 
Raghunathpur,  226. 
Ragland,  Rev.  T.  G.,  284. 
Ragunath  Rao,  331,  396. 
Raikes,  Miss,  225. 
Rainfall,  4,  5. 
Raipur,  213,  362. 
Rajagopa],  427. 
Rajahmundry,  198. 
Rajanaiken,  in,  112,  121,  167. 
Rajasthani,  9. 
Rajkot,  195. 
Rajmahal  Hills,  7. 
Rajputana,  5,  10,  12,  21S,  238. 
Rajputs,  12,  13,  15. 
Rama,  24,  249. 
Ramabai,  227,  239,  330. 
Ramanandi,  22. 
Ramanuja,  249. 
Ramayana,  24,  136. 
Rameswaram,  23. 

Ram  Krishna  Paramhansa,  3S7,  399. 
Ram  Madho,  184. 
Ram  Mohan  Roy,  178,  367-369. 
Ramnad,  48,  68,  100,  121. 
Ramogyris,  37. 
Rampur  Bauleah,  213,  349. 
Ramsay,  Dr.,  347, 
Ramsay,  H.,  210. 
Ramsay,  Sir  J.,  356. 
Ranaghat,  225,  354. 
Ranchi,  198,  275. 
Rangoon,  149,  161,  199,  221,  274. 
Raniganj,  212. 
Ranjit  Singh,  193. 
Rapolin,  83. 
Rapur,  213. 
Rasulam,  292. 
Rationalism,  402. 
Ratlam,  213. 
Ratnam,  Manchala,  184. 
Ravi,  R.,  235. 
Rawalpindi,  200,  213,  320. 
Reade,  Miss  V.  M.,  226. 
Rebecca,  338. 
Reed,  Miss  Mary,  363. 
Reeve,  Mr.,  226. 
Reeve,  Rev.  W.,  292. 
Reformati,  71. 
•'  Regions  Beyond,"  225. 
"  Reis  and  Rayat,"  384. 
Relief  works,  193. 
Religious  Tract  Society,  295. 
Remarriage  of  native  Christians,  192. 
"  Review  of  Religions,"  402,  404. 
Revival  of  Hinduism,  389-400. 
Revival     of    Hindu     literature,     398, 
399- 
30 


Revival  of  Muhammadanism,  400-405. 

Rheede,  H.  A.  van,  86. 

Rhenius,  Rev.   C.  T.,   158,    159,   160, 

168,  288,  422. 
Ribbentrop,  Dr.,  197,  356. 
Ribeiro,  Abp.,  88. 
Rice,  Rev.  — ,  144,  149,  161. 
Rice,  Rev.  E.  P.,  304. 
Rice  Christians,  240. 
Richards,  Rev.  W.  F.,  292. 
Richardson,  Dr.,  384. 
Richmond  Hill,  424. 
Richter's  "  Nordindische,"  etc.,  261, 
Ringeltaube,   Rev.    W.  T.,    146,   149, 

154,  158. 
Ripon,  Lord,  309. 
Rishis,  380,  381,  388,  395. 
Risley,  Sir  H.,  11,  20,  243,  244. 
Rodriguez,  Simon,  46,  54. 
Rohilkhand,  193,  218. 
Romapuri  Sannyasis,  65. 
Romo-Syrians,  85,  90. 
Rottler,  Dr.  J.  P.,  124,  163,  165. 
Rouse,  Dr.,  289,  306. 
Roxburgh,  137. 
Royapuram,  349. 
Roz,  82,  83. 
Russelkonda,  217. 
Ryland,  Dr.  J.,  142. 

Saba,  29. 

Sabceans,  29. 

Sabathu,  200,  356. 

Sachee,  41. 

Sadharan  Samaj,  373. 

Sadija,  226. 

Sadras,  96,  115. 

Sagar,  23,  216. 

Sagjuria,  224. 

Saharanpur,  200,  359,  426. 

Saiads,  21. 

Saighar,  41. 

Saimur,  41. 

Saivites,  22,  26,  249. 

Saktas,  22. 

Sale,  Mrs.,  339. 

Salem,  64,  155. 

Salgado,  R.  F.,  86. 

Salsette,  39,  45,  57,  58,  71,  74. 

Salur,  221. 

Salurpetta,  213. 

Salvation  Army,  223,  449. 

Salzmann,  109. 

Samachar  Durpan,  137. 

Samari,  76. 

Sambal,  186. 

Samuel,  J.  A.,  226. 

Sandirapadi,  167. 

Sandys,  204,  288. 

Sankaracharya,  24. 

Sankhya,  263,  268,  366,  392,  394. 


466 


INDEX 


Sannyasi,  25,  60,  61,  63,  65,  68,  113, 

146,  3^7,  392. 
Sanskrit,  61,   135,  136,    139,    140,  253, 

269. 
Santipur,  200, 
Santali,  8,  298,  303. 
Santals,   18,  215,  217,  219,  244,  246, 

247,  415- 
Sanzian,  47,  55. 
Sardars,  252. 

Sargent,  Bp.,  274,  281,  431. 
Sargodya,  235. 
Saripat  Purunia,  225. 
Sarkara,  186. 
Sartorius,  113,  125. 
Sarvisvara,  270. 
Sassanian,  33. 
Satara,  200,  299. 
Satguruwas,  251. 
Satnami,  22,  251,  367. 
Satpura  Hills,  2,  17. 
Satthianadhan,  Prof.  S.,  427. 
Satthianadhan,  W.  T.,  427. 
"  Sattia  Tudan,"  301. 
"  Sattiavarthamani,"  301,  384. 
Sattirams,  242. 
"  Satyadipike,"  301. 
Satyaginus,  251. 
Satyamangalam,  68,  120. 
Sauras,  22. 
Savage,  226. 

Saxony,  Missionary  Conference  of,  303. 
Scandinavian  Santal  Mission,  415. 
Schaaf,  Prof.,  90. 
Schlegelmilch,  Dr.,  346. 
Schleswig-Holstein  Missionary  Society, 

221,  238. 
Schmid,  Rev.  B.,  422. 
Schmidt,  Rev.  H.,  293. 
Schnorre,  159. 
Schott,  Rev.  O.,  283. 
Schreyvogel,  Rev.  D.,  165. 
Schroter,  157. 
Schultze,  Rev.  B. ,  no,   iii,  113,  115, 

116,  125,  166,  285,  289. 
Schwartz,  Rev.  C.  F.,  99,  1 16-123,  126, 

161,  163,  166,  185,  420,  421. 
Schwedaung,  199. 
Scotland,  174,  177. 
Scotland,  Established  Church  of,  161, 

195,  213,  236,  252,  319,  336,  432. 
Scotland,   Free   Church   of,   195,  215, 

216,  233,  322,  336,  413. 
Scott,  the  brothers,  361. 
Scott,  Dr.,  212,  327. 
Scottish  General  Assembly,  174. 
"  Scottish  Missionary  Industrial  Com- 
pany," 413. 
Scott  Waring,  150. 
Scudder,  Dr.  H.,  347. 
Scudder,  Dr.  J.,  200,  347. 


Sebastiao,  King,  56. 

Secunderabad,  212. 

Seelye,  Dr.,  324. 

Sehore,  358. 

Seikokwei,  435. 

Seitoon,  41. 

Seitta  Panaiche,  72, 

Selincourt,  Miss  A.  de,  327. 

Sell,  Canon,  304. 

Seminaries,  Theological,  422,  423,  424, 

425. 
Senard,  20. 

Sequeira,  P.  de,  33,  79. 
Serampore,  131,  134,  144,  149. 
Serampore  College,  141,  142,  143. 
Serfoji,  99,  120,  121,  123. 
Series,  Captain,  387. 
Seringapatam,  100,  119. 
Shaftesbury,  Lord,  296. 
Shah  Jehan,  346. 
Shahjahanpur,  21 1, 
Shamanism,  23. 
Shammas,  78. 
Shan,  303. 
Shanans,  146,  158,  194,  201,  232,  248, 

416,  422,  423. 
Shangpung,  217. 
Shastras,  387. 
Shaul,  45,  57,  71. 
Shekhs,  21. 
Sheldon,  Dr.  C,  347. 
Sheila,  217. 

Sherring,  Rev.  M.  A.,  303. 
Sheshadri  Narayan,  427. 
Shidam  Banwar,  364. 
Shillidys,  Rev.  — ,  291. 
Shillong,  217. 
Shirt,  Rev.  — ,  291. 
Sholapur,  200. 
Shoolbred,  Dr.,  348. 
Sialkot,  195,  205,  213,  236,  352. 
Sibsagar,  199. 
Sigra,  193,  198,  410. 
Sikandra,  193,  198,  410,  41 1,  412. 
Sikhism,  366. 
Sikhs,  22,  193,  202. 
Sikkim,  3. 
Sil,  398. 

Simeon,  Rev.  Chas. ,  147,  148. 
Simeon,  Metropolitan,  35. 
Simeon,  Patriarch,  77. 
Simla,  194,  197. 
Sind,  2,  212. 
Sindhi,  9,  11,  291,  302. 
Singbonga,  244,  250. 
Singlatz,  41. 
Singrowli,  217. 
Sirkar,  184. 
Sirur,  200. 

Sisterhood  of  All  Saints,  222. 
Sisterhood  of  St.  Mary's,  222, 


INDEX 


467 


Sitapur,  211. 

Siva,  24,  25,  186,  246,  249,  392. 
Sivaganga,  100. 
Sivaji,  99. 
Sivanaraini,  22. 
Sivanath  Shastri,  Dr. ,  373- 
Skinner,  Rev.  J.,  291. 
Skrefsrud,  215,  303. 
Slater,  Rev.  T.  E.,  304. 
Slavery,  150,  255. 
Smartas,  22. 
Smith,  Dr.  T.,  338. 
Snow,  Hamid,  401. 
Society  for  Defence  of  Islam,  405. 
Society  of  Friends,  213. 
Society  for  Promoting  Christian  Know- 
ledge,   125,    146,    156,    159,    164, 
165,  194,  297,  299-        .  ^     ^ 

Society   for    the    Propagation    ot    the 
Gospel,    156,   158,   159,  164,   165, 
169,  194.  201,  204,  215,  222,  223, 
229,  234,  276,  280,  288. 
Sohagpur,  213. 
Solapuram,  224. 
"  Soma  "  sacrifice,  374. 
Soiisa,  R.  de,  79. 
S.  India  Railway  Mission,  226. 
Sparrow,  Mr.,  226. 
Spencer,  Bp.,  227. 
Spencer,  Herbert,  391. 
Srinagar,  351,  354,  403- 
Srirangam,  24,  26. 
Start,  197. 
Steele,  Dr.,  347. 
Sterapur,  411. 
Sternberg,  251. 
Stewart,  Lieutenant,  157. 
Stipend,  missionary's,  105. 
Storries,  227. 
Storrow,  Rev.  E.,  336. 
Student  Volunteer  Movement,  326. 
Subrahmanya,  25. 

Sudras,  18,  21,  67,  108,  in,  166,  167, 
168,  169,  170,  171,  172,  230,  232, 
234,  259,  260,  388,  415,  420 
Sulaiman  Mountains,  12,  211. 
Sulaka,  J.,  77>  80. 
Suleiman,  36. 
Sulga,  225. 
Sullivan,  121. 

Sunday  School  Lessons  and  Helps,  301, 
Sunday  School  Union,  The  India,  327, 

328. 
Sunday-school  work,  327,  328,  329. 
Sundarbans,  23,  154,  156,  201. 
Supera,  39,  40. 

Surat,  75,  97,  145.  15s.  195.  222. 
Suri,  153. 
Susruta,  176. 
Sutcliff,  142. 
Suttee,  188,  330,  368,  387. 


Sutton,  Rev.  — ,  290. 

Swadeshi  Movement,  397. 

Swain,  Dr.  Clara,  350. 

Swedish  Protestant  National   Society, 

213,  217, 
Syed,  Sir  Ahmed  Khan,  401,  402. 
Syrian  Church,  30,   31,  35,  38,  SS,  75, 

91,  147,  158. 

Tagore,  Babu  Cumar,  338. 
Tagore,  369,  370. 
Taiping  Rebellion,  252. 
Takpo,  73. 
Takings,  245. 
Taljhari,  215. 
Talkad,  224. 
Tamalo,  46. 

Tamil  Coolie  Mission,  278. 
Tamil  Country,  38,  64,  98,   loi,   109, 
117,  149,  160,  168,  172,  186,  218, 
224,  230. 
Tamil,  7,  19,  47>  48,  61,  245,  301. 
Tanjore,  99,   loi,    in,   112,   117-121, 
123,  125,  165,  166,  169,  197,  320. 
Tank,  211,  367. 
Tanore,  45. 

Tantras,  384,  393,  397- 
Taprobane,  31. 
Tarakeshwar,  139. 
Taramkambadi,  loi. 
Tarasapali,  34,  35. 
Tarn  Taran,  284,  359. 
Tatipaka,  224. 
Tattaraceri,  86. 
Tatwa  Bodha  Swami,  65. 
Tatwabodhini  Sabha,  369. 
Tavoy,  161,  221 
Taylor,  Miss  A.,  225. 
Taylor,  Gen.  R.,  194,  209. 
Taylor,  Bp.  W.,  212. 

Teignmouth,  Lord,  150. 

Tekkenkur,  76. 

Tellicherry,  196. 

Telugu,  7,  61,  73,   173.  194,  I98>  218, 
219,  238,  245,  301. 

Temple,  Sir  R.,  210. 

Terrell,  Charles  D.,  359. 

Thags,  189. 

Thakurdas,  414. 

Thana,  39,  41,  349- 

Theatines,  72,  75. 

Theodore,  36. 

Theodosius,  36. 

Theophilus,  Bp.,  29,  30. 

"  Theosophical  Society,"  381-385. 

Theosophy,  323,  379-383- 

Theseus  de  Montecceli,  80. 

"  The  Thinker,"  390. 

Thoburn,  Bp.,  212. 

Thoburn,  Miss  I.,  212,  238. 

Thomas,  Archdeacon,  84,  88. 


468 


INDEX 


Thomas  of  Tolentino,  39. 

Thomas,  Bp.  of  Edessa,  30. 

Thomas,  Khan,  30,  31. 

Thomas,  Dr.  J.,  133,  347. 

Thomas  Christians,  41. 

Thomas  shrines,  32,  36,  39,  42. 

Thomason,  Jas.,  183. 

Thomason,  Rev.  T.,  147,  148. 

Thompson,  Rev.  C.  S.,  217. 

Thompson,  Dr.  A.,  283,  428. 

Thompson,  Rev.  — ,  238. 

Thompson,  Rev.  E.  W.,  306. 

Thomson,  Dr.,  348. 

Thread,  sacred,  61,  64,  69. 

Thwaites,  Rev.  E.  N.,  324. 

Tibet,  3,  73,  75,  199,  225. 

Tibetan  Pioneer  Mission,  225. 

Tiliali,  109. 

Timm,  Rev,  — ,  238. 

Tindivanam,  200. 

Tinnevelly,    18,    loi,    119,    158,    194, 

197,  201,  218,  219,  220,  224,  231, 

234,  274,  320,  380,  415,  417,  419, 

421,  423,  431- 
Tipu  Sahib,  16,  90,  91,  93,  100,  120. 
Tirumal  Naick,  99. 
Tirumangalam,  199. 
Tirupati,  186,  213. 
Tirupatur,  24. 

Tisdall,  Rev.  St.  Clair,  304. 
Tiyans,  416. 
Toda,  7,  215,  302. 
Todhgarh,  213. 
Tolfrey,  291. 
Tols,  175,  269. 
Toogood,  Miss,  338. 
Totemism,  18,  245. 
Toungoo,  199. 
Tournon,  69,  70. 
Tracey,  Mrs.,  339. 
Tractarian  Movement,  273. 
Tract  Societies,  295. 
Training  of  Teachers  and  Pastors,  321, 

340,  421-425. 
Tranquebar,    96,    loi,    103,    iii,    117, 

123,  124,  145,  159,  162-165,  197- 
Transmigration  of  souls,  267. 
Travancore,  4,  35,  36,  37,  45,  50,  51, 

58.  75.  76,  82,  90,  91,   146,  155, 

158,  194.  219,  226,  231,  275. 
Trevelyan,  Sir  C,  179. 
Trichinopoly,  23,  24,  68,  99,  100,  loi, 


117,  IIS,  119, 
165,  166,  169, 

Trichur,  295. 

Trincomali,  loi. 

Trivandrum,  37,  326. 

Trumpp,  Dr.  E.,  302, 

Tucker,  159. 

Tucker,  "  Major,"  22 

Tulsi,  99,  118,  120. 


70,  320. 


125, 


Tuhi,  7,  196,  302. 

Tumkur,  160. 

Tundi,  215,  349. 

Tunkers,  222. 

Tuticorin,  50,  58,  74,  85,  96. 

Twining,  150. 

Tychsen,  33. 

Udaipur,  213,  348,  352. 

Udaipuri,  302. 

Udapi,  196. 

Udayamperur,  82. 

Udny,  133,  146. 

Uffmann,  Rev.  H.,  364. 

Ujjain,  213. 

Ujjaini,  302. 

Ulama,  402. 

Ullmann,  200,  360. 

Unao,  211. 

"  Unattached  "  missions,  225-22S. 

Underbill,  Rev.  E.  B,,  283. 

Undopherres,  28. 

"  Unitarian  Church,"  368. 

United  Provinces,  5,  10,  15,  180. 

United  S.  Indian  Church,  435. 

United  Syrians,  85. 

Universities,  Indian,  180,  31 1. 

"  Unknown  Life  of  Christ,"  the,  403. 

Upadhi,  266,  267. 

Upanishads,  263,  368,  393,  399. 

Urdu,  16,  176,  289,  295,  401. 

Ureiur,  68. 

Urfah,  28. 

Urmia,  77. 

Vaipikota,  80,  83,  87. 

Vaishnavites,  22,  26,  44,  68. 

Vaishya,  18,  21,  230. 

Vakadu,  213. 

Valentine,  Dr.  C,  348,  353. 

Vallabhacharia,  22. 

Vandalism  in  Syrian  Church,  82, 

Vaniyambadi,  222. 

Vasconcelles,  de,  Abp.,  88. 

Vasconcelles,  de,  Bp.,  88. 

Vaughan,  J.,  303. 

Vedanta,  24,  263,  264,  366,  386,  392, 

399. 
Vedantist  Society,  368. 
Vedas,  61,  67,  263,  287,  368,  369,  393, 

394.  395.  396,  399- 
Vellore,  99,  115,  150,  200,  320,  435. 
Venkaji,  99. 
Venkatagiri,  213. 

Venn,  Rev.  H.,  51,  160,  277,429-433. 
Vepery,  114,  169. 
Verapoli,  86,  87,  91,  94. 
Vernacular,  176,  280-285,  296. 
Victoria,    Queen    and    Empress,    220, 

351- 
Vidyasagar,  331. 


INDEX 


469 


Village  Missions,  2S4,  345. 
Vincenz,  79. 
Virajanda,  393. 
Vira  Raghava,  34. 
Vishnu,  24,  249,  250,  398. 
Vivekananda,  Swami,  323,  386-3S9. 
Vizagapatam,  145,  149,  155,  219. 
"  Vrittanta  Patrike,"  301. 

Wadakenkur,  76. 

Wadal,  200. 

Wade,  Rev.  — ,  291. 

Walajabad,  349. 

Waldegrave,  227. 

Walther,  Rev.  T.,  112,  123,  270,  285. 

Waltroth,  Dr.,  294. 

Wanamaker,  327. 

Wanier,  34,  35. 

Ward,  Dr.  N.,  347. 

Ward,  Rev.  W.,  I34-I43>  3°3- 

Wardha,  349. 

Wariur,  68. 

Warneck,  Prof.,  63,  71,  261. 

Was,  the,  245. 

Wazirabad,  195,  213,  235. 

Weigle,  Rev.  G.  H.,  292. 

Weinbrennerians,  225,  229. 

Weitbrecht,  Rev.  J.  J.,  157. 

Weitbrecht,  Dr.  H.  U.,  289,  294,  306. 

Welland,  Rev.  J.,  424. 

Wellesley,  Marquess  of,  135,  185. 

Welsh  Calvinistic  Methodists,  216. 

Wendt,  Rev,  C,  109, 

Wenger,  Dr.  J.,  140,  289. 

Wesenberg,  103. 

Wesley  Guild,  328. 

Wesleyan  Methodist  Missionary  Society, 

212,  424,  426. 
West,  Dr.,  33. 
Westcott,  Bp.,  223. 
Westcott,  Rev.  A.,  126,  167. 
•'Western     Indian     Native    Christian 

Alliance,"  434. 
Wheeler,  Col.,  205. 
Wheeler,  Miss,  224. 
White  of  Karnal,  401. 
Wiedebrock,  Rev.  J.  C,  123. 


Wigram,  Rev.  F.  E.,  324. 

Wilajat,  Ali,  204. 

Wilberforce,  Bp.,  274. 

Wilberforce,  Wm.,  149,  150,  273. 

Wilder,  R.,  327, 

William  of  Prato,  43. 

Williamson,  Dr.,  302,  347. 

Wilson,  Bp.,  91,  167,  169,  277,  279,339. 

Wilson,  Rev.  I.,  335. 

Wilson,  Dr.  J.,  19,  161,  168,  183,  195, 

269,  301,  304. 
Wilson,  Mrs.,  334. 
Winter,  Mrs.,  350. 
Women  doctors,  350. 
Women's  Auxiliaries,  339,  340. 
Women's  work  for  vi^omen,   214,  230, 

329-346. 
Wood,  Sir  C,  180,  307. 
Wood's  Law,  182. 
Worm,  Rev.  P.  Jacob,  102. 
Wright  Innes,  225. 
Wright,  Rev.  — ,  342. 
Wylie,  Col.,  358. 

Xavier,  Francisco,  45-55. 
Xavier,  Hieronimo,  74. 

Ya  Htai,  245. 

Ya  Htawa,  245. 

Yama,  267. 

Yates,  Rev.  W.,  140,  289. 

Yoga,  263. 

Yogi,  25,  64. 

Young    Men's    Christian   Association, 

326,  327. 
Young  Women's  Christian  Association, 

326,  327. 

"Zenana  Bible  and  Medical  Mission," 

340,  342,  350. 
Zenanas,  329,  331,  338,  344,  350- 
Ziegenbalg,  Rev.  B.,  102-110,  1 14,  163, 

285,  2S8. 
Ziemann,  Rev.  G.  W.,  197,  283. 
Zion  Church  (Danish),  162. 
Zook,  Mr.,  225. 
Zoroastrianism,  73,  286,  304. 


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